Our Broken Chains
by AbyssalDreamer18
Summary: She was his everything. Being together for nearly two years has been the happiest. But when Sakura's mental state is spiraling, Seto struggles to keep those past times close. However, their current threats are beyond some mental demons. Seto x OC. Sequel to That Stabbing Feeling.
1. Chapter 1

**_NOTE: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, I just own my OC and all that jazz._**

 **So, this is the sequel to _That Stabbing Feeling_ , and if you haven't read it yet, then I don't know what the heck you're doing here when you could be reading it. Or else nothing here will make sense. For those who _have_ read said story, welcome back! I severely apologize for the wait though; I hit some writer's block. However, I want to give a HUGE thank you to FutureStar27 for helping me out with this, if it wasn't for her, I'd probably still be stuck. So, thank you! Anyhoo, I'm not going to keep you any longer, so here's the first chapter!**

 **x.x**

Sakura stared down at the pavement in silence. The streets were less crowded than usual and the cars that normally lined the streets were no longer there, but it was not bothersome to her. It was actually preferred. Perhaps just due to her quiet nature. She smiled to herself as she thought on how Seto would've reacted to the empty streets. She knew how much he hated people. Sakura was distracted from her thoughts when she felt her phone vibrate from her pocket. She grabbed it and looked to the Caller ID. **Incoming Call: Home**.

"Hello?" she asked putting the phone to her ear.

"Sakura?" her mother's voice came through.

"Yeah? What is it, Mom?"

"Oh, I just wanted to make sure you were coming home. It's getting late."

"Yeah, I'm walking back right now."

"Okay Sweetie, I'll see you then."

"Bye."

Sakura placed her phone back into her pants pocket and continued walking. It was not yet sunset, but that time would be nearing soon. The sky was still lit up and cascaded blue, although it would soon transition to orange. The breeze began to pick up and whipped her face before searching for the next person to hit. _It is getting a bit late. I guess I did stay a little late at Seto's today,_ she thought to herself.

The pair had been dating for over one and a half years now and was slowly closing in on two. They were happy with where they were at right now and felt that their past struggles were worth reconciling over. Sakura reached to her neck and readjusted the silver chain around it that Seto had given her a matter of months ago. The metal was now cooler because of the sudden wind.

Sakura turned a corner and noticed there were a few more people in that area of town. Not a whole lot of people, but just a few. Enough to create some sort of chatter in the area instead of only hearing the wind pass by. The cars passing by were also more frequent. Sakura sped up her walking so she'd be able to cross before the street light turned green again. She managed to get to the crosswalk when the sign saying it was safe to walk was still lit. She calmly crossed the street in silence as she had been walking previously. However, she looked up upon hearing something. It sounded like the screeching of a tire. Her gaze flashed upwards to see a car which was moving at an increasingly high speed. It was coming down the street she was crossing. _Oh no…_

Time seemed to be standing still. It was as if everything ceased moving just so that one moment could take place. Sakura felt immobilized. But somehow, she found the ability to move. Running was her only option at this point. Her heart seemed to be throbbing with each step she took, although she wasn't sure if it was actually still beating or just shaking. Her feet then collapsed from under her. She had tripped.

Sakura crashed onto the pavement on her hands and knees. She was on the sidewalk. She was out of the way. Her entire body was trembling. She felt numb. She glanced over back to the street to see the car swerve into a tree beside the road. The driver immediately got out of his car with anxiety written all over his expression. Sakura looked back to the pavement below her.

It all just felt like a big reminder. She felt the same anxiety now as she did in the past. What with her experiences with shot wounds and kidnappings. _Bu-but why is this just affecting me now?_ Her most recent memory of those experiences came back into her mind.

Then, she was in the grasp of a brutal former business partner of Seto with a gun pressed to her temple. Her wrists were in front of her, tightly fastened by ropes. _"Which one of you will die first?"_ Kurosawa had asked her and Seto with the gun in his hand moving between the two teenagers. The fear she felt then was exactly the same as what she felt now.

Sakura shook her head to try and rid her mind of such memories. She hated them. She blinked continuously to get the swirling images from invading her mind. Yet, they would not move. Even if they had happened nearly two years before, it felt like she was back in that time.

The images of Hirotani came next. He and his other gang members had surrounded her in her own home. Another gun was pointed straight at her with smug faces staring at her. She had pleaded with them not to kill her, but yet, the bullet still hit her. There was so much blood. She remembered Hirotani smirking at her, _"Fear suits any good victim."_ He said.

 _No! Get out of my head! I'm not a victim anymore!_ Tears leaked from her eyes and ran down her cheeks. They dripped onto the top of her hands as she sobbed. Her hands then went to the sides of her head, clutching her skull tightly. _Get out! Get out! I don't want to think about this!_

Sakura looked up in fear to see people staring at her. Some of their mouths were moving, supposedly towards her. She wasn't quite sure, but perhaps they were asking if she was alright. Everything was deafening though. She could barely see at this point. However, some people stood out to her. Most of them looked like her predators. Their faces smirking watching her suffer. She blinked rapidly in hopes of getting rid of the hallucinations. Although, something told her they weren't just visions, even though the logical side of her knew they were.

She was certain though that she had screamed. She continued to clutch her head in hopes of ridding her mind of the chaos. But, they would not leave her. A small crowd of people were now around her, a couple of them phoning for an ambulance. _I'm going to throw up. Just get them out of my head…_

Everything turned black.

 **X.X.X**

Sakura opened her eyes slowly. She did not recognize this setting. Her eyes were met with a white ceiling matched with white walls. It must've been a hospital; that was the only explanation she could come up with. She stared to her arms to find her hooked up to a couple monitors, but no IV's or needles. _My head hurts. I wish I was home._

She looked up to see someone sitting in a chair beside her. He was a tall brunet looking to the wall with his cold, blue eyes. His arms were crossed tightly in front of his chest. He was staring at the wall as if he despised it, but also seemed like he was have some sort of staring contest with it.

"S-Seto..?" Sakura questioned quietly.

Seto's eyes quickly darted back to her with relief flooding over his blue orbs. "Sakura, are you alright?" he asked.

"What are you doing here?" she asked completely ignoring his question.

Seto stared at her. "You expect me to just sit around, while you're unconscious in a hospital? I thought you knew me better." A light smile crossed Sakura's face. "Now, answer my question; are you alright?"

"My head hurts." She mumbled.

"The doctors should come in soon. They'll give you something."

Sakura nodded. She reached her arms over and placed her hand on top of his. He held her hand firmly in his. Just his touch made her relax. "Are my parents here?" she asked.

"They're on their way." He responded.

She nodded again and looked back to him.

"What happened to you?" Seto's face no longer showed concern, but was filled with all seriousness.

Sakura thought for a moment. It all just seemed like a blur now, even though everything felt so real and alive at the time. It was madness. Her memory began to return to her as she recalled the instance with the car. How everything about it just caused so much pain within her. She couldn't describe it.

"I don't know."

 **x.x**

 **Yes! Chapter one is done! Pop open the champagne! And I actually ended up changing my spacing margins, woo. Don't ask why I chose the letter 'x', I clicked it, I used it. But yeah, this story is going to be fun. Again, I really apologize for the wait for this, it killed me too. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura sat quietly on her hospital bed as she stared to her lap. One of her hands lied there, while her other was playing with the silver necklace around her neck. She had been in the hospital for over two days now. When she had been shot in the past, she had stayed in the hospital for nearly a week, which she personally didn't mind. But these two days seemed to be annoying her. She could now understand why Seto had a great hatred for hospitals. Everything there could get obnoxious.

She looked up at the woman who sat across from her. The woman sat at a chair with a clipboard in her hands and was currently jotting some things down on the pieces of paper attached to it. The woman had come by her room since yesterday just to talk to her. She was a doctor no doubt; she had introduced herself as Doctor Ikari. _Why is she even here? What is there to discuss?_ Of course, Sakura had asked the woman that before, but her only response was that she had to be 'evaluated'. _Whatever that means. I can't think about it because of my headache._

Doctor Ikari finally looked up from her papers toward Sakura. "So Sakura, what do you want to discuss today?" she asked.

Sakura shrugged. She barely talked yesterday, for she didn't see the point. "I don't know."

"Okay, how was your morning?"

"Alright. Seto was here before you came in."

Seto had came to the hospital for the past two days she had been in there right when visiting hours began and left after they had ended. He was probably in the waiting room waiting for the time their session was over. It didn't help that he hated waiting either.

"Okay. We've still got a few minutes, would you like to discuss Seto?"

"What is there to say?"

"Well, how about we start with that necklace of yours? Did he give it to you?"

"Yes."

"What was the occasion?"

"Our one year anniversary."

Doctor Ikari nodded and scribbled something down. "Is that all you have to say about him?"

Sakura was about to respond to the question, but she chose to ignore her question. "Doctor Ikari? What is the point in all of this? Why can't I just go home?"

The woman smiled and used a gentle tone. "I told you already, you must undergo evaluation."

"Evaluation for what?"

Just as Sakura had stopped talking, her doctor's watch had beeped. "I'll explain everything once your parents come in here."

Doctor Ikari stood from her chair and headed toward the door. Sakura groaned as she left. _Why couldn't she just tell me already?_ After a matter of minutes, the doctor returned with her parents and Seto closely behind her. Her parents both hugged her tightly. "How are you doing, Sweetie?" Jun asked.

"Good."

The Takahashi's sat down in two of the chairs while Seto stood next to Sakura. She looked up at him and smiled, "Has she said anything to you?" she asked.

"No." Seto replied. "Why do you ask?"

"She's barely told me anything either."

Seto frowned and turned back towards the woman. Doctor Ikari looked up at the group and looked to Sakura's parents. "Ah yes, I don't believe we have met before Mister and Misses Takahashi, your names are Jun and Ken, correct?" They nodded. "Alright, I am Doctor Ikari, I'm a psychiatrist here at the hospital."

 _Psychiatrist?_ Seto thought. _What the heck does Sakura need one of those for? She only fainted._

Sakura placed her hands in her lap waiting for what the doctor had to say about her. Then maybe she'd finally be able to get out of there. Plus, she wanted to know what she was doing staying at the hospital for what seemed a bit of an extensive time.

"Okay, back to business," Doctor Ikari shuffled through her papers. Sakura twitched at the mention of her health being referred to as just 'business'. _Well, that was rude. Am I supposed to be a patient or a stack of papers?_ "So, we believe that due to the account from the witnesses during the incident, that you were having some sort of breakdown. Your parents tell me you've had some pretty traumatic experiences last year, correct?" Sakura nodded. "Well, then the only explanation for this would be some psychological damage."

Seto rolled his eyes. _Please, even a kindergartener would know that would cause mental damage._

"So, then what do you plan to do about this?" Sakura's father asked.

Doctor Ikari looked up again. "I'd recommend Sakura coming here every other day so we can continue evaluating her for the next month."

Sakura sighed. _This is going to be a long month…_

"Well Sakura, how does that sound?"

She looked up at her doctor. Sakura only shrugged at her.

"Are you feeling well? Does your head hurt?"

Sakura slightly nodded.

"Alright, I'll let you rest. I'll send someone by with some Ibuprofen in a few minutes."

"Okay."

Doctor Ikari stood from her chair and headed out of the room. Sakura's parents also stood up and faced their daughter, "Sweetie, we're going to talk to the doctor a little more, okay?" Jun said.

"Alright."

The duo smiled and headed out of the room. Seto turned toward Sakura and spoke. "I recall not getting a definite response from you the other day."

"For what?" Sakura questioned.

"Are you going to make me repeat it? I asked you before what happened to you before you were admitted into this wretched place." His eyes looked around the room in disgust. "Besides, that God-forsaken doctor mentioned the word _incident._ I trust you're able to explain that."

Sakura sighed. She didn't want to talk about it, but thought he deserved to know. "I was heading home and then a car came down the street and almost hit me. I don't know why, but I just felt so afraid and it reminded me of all those horrible memories. I'm not sure what is was exactly, but the next thing I knew, I was in the hospital."

"Did you get the license plate number of the car?"

"No."

"Damn it."

Sakura let out a small laugh. "You weren't going to plan on suing that guy, were you?"

"That lowlife deserves it."

"Maybe so, but that wouldn't really help anything."

Seto grunted and folded his arms in front of his chest. She was probably right and he hated that. He hated when he was wrong about something. The duo soon looked up upon hearing a knock at the door. A male doctor soon entered the room and smiled toward Sakura. "Hello Miss Takahashi, I have the Ibuprofen you requested." He said.

Sakura carefully watched the man walk towards her. Something about him just seemed off to her. _What is it? Why does he look familiar?_ She looked to the man's shabby ebony hair and his thin face. _Who does he remind me of..?_ She blinked a couple of times only to look to the man to see a familiar face. _Kurosawa…? No, this can't be real. It's got to be a hallucination. Right?_

The doctor held out the pill and a glass of water to Sakura, "Here you go, this should make you feel much better." He said kindly.

Sakura continued to rapidly blink, but Kurosawa's face would not leave the man. She was convinced that that was actually him. Seto noticed the terrified look on Sakura's face while beads of sweat were dripping from her forehead. "Sakura?" he asked. "Sakura, what's wrong?"

Sakura flung herself from the bed and lunged for the young doctor. Her hands grasped for his neck as he yelled. Sakura's grip on his neck tightened as the man gagged. "No! I can't be a victim to you again!" she screamed. "I won't!"

Seto jumped over the bed and attempted to pull Sakura off of the man. A passing nurse in the hallway heard the commotion and checked to see what was going on. Upon seeing the event, she yelled for the other nurses to come in and help. "Somebody prepare a sedative!"

"She seems to be having a panic attack!"

"Go help the doctor!"

"Sakura!" Seto shouted.

Sakura held her grip on the man's neck as his flailing grew weaker. Seto finally managed to pry her off of the man as she kicked and screamed against him. "Seto, stop!" she shrieked. "Let go of me! I can't let him capture me again!"

Seto didn't know what nonsense she was talking about, but he just knew that he wouldn't tolerate anymore of this. He threw Sakura back onto the hospital bed and pinned down her arms. Even as she struggled, she knew that he was a lot stronger than she was. Suddenly, tears began to pour out of her eyes as she sobbed.

"S-Seto…" she sobbed. "Please…"

Seto stared into her tear-soaked eyes and saw nothing but fear written within them. Sakura then cringed when she felt something sharp go into her arm. _That must be the sedative,_ Seto thought. He noticed the tension in her muscles began to relax as she began to drift out of consciousness. Seto sighed. _This whole thing is going to be harder than I thought._ Sakura continued to sob until she was pulled into a medicated slumber.

 **x.x**

 **Well… there's your chapter. I'm probably being a bit of a sadist towards Sakura, but that's probably not going to end here… Anyhoo! Hopefully I got the panic attack pretty on par because I'm not a doctor and the Internet and FutureStar27 are my only guides here… thanks again for that. I wouldn't really call this chapter filler, but I don't see it as real important either. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed and I really appreciate the reviews 'n stuff from the last chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Nearly three weeks,_ Sakura thought. _I've been here for almost three weeks._ The only reason why she'd been stuck there for so long was due to her violent panic attack from three weeks ago. Sakura looked up to her recently assigned psychiatrist, Doctor Sonozaki. She was tired of her other one, so she requested to the hospital that they gave her a different one. Seeing the psychiatrist was one of the worst things about being in the hospital to her. It forced her to actually _talk_ about her trauma-inducing memories. _When are they going to let me out of here?_

"Sakura, are you ready to talk?" Doctor Sonozaki asked her.

"No." Sakura responded.

"I know it's painful for you. But, the more you talk about it, the sooner we may be able to diagnose your issues and discharge you."

Sakura sighed. "What do you want to ask me?"

"How about we discuss that panic attack you had a few weeks ago?"

Sakura hesitantly nodded.

"Do you recall what caused you to go into such a state of panic?"

"The doctor reminded me of one of my captors."

"How did that make you feel?"

 _Pretty awful, obviously._ "Trapped." That was the best word she could use to describe it.

"And what did you do about it?"

"I… started choking him." Sakura's voice began to croak as she recalled the event. She hated herself in that state. It just wasn't her.

"Well, things are better now, aren't they? The doctor is alive and well, and you're doing better, so-"

"Things aren't as good as you think." Sakura interrupted.

"Why is that?"

"Because I've been in this hospital for almost three weeks. I haven't even seen my parents or my boyfriend since then! I can't even have a conversation on the phone with them! Do you know how lonely that is? And it's all because of everyone trying to keep me stuck in this stupid place!" Sakura remained silent for a moment and wrapped her arms around herself while her psychiatrist processed this. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "I'm sorry for yelling."

"There's no need to apologize. I'm glad that you're expressing yourself like that." The woman glanced down to her papers and wrote something down. She then looked up back to Sakura and smiled. "Would it be alright if I called your parents to come here?"

Sakura's eyes widened. _Is she serious?_ "What for?"

"I would like to discuss the matter of your health with the three of you. I think it's something they deserve to hear."

"Alright, it's no problem."

"Good. How about we arrange for them to come here later this afternoon?"

"Sure. Thank you."

Doctor Sonozaki smiled and left the room.

 **X.X.X**

Later that day, Sakura sat at a table awaiting the arrival of her doctor and parents. The room seemed to represent a meeting room, except that it was not very big. The walls were bare and the table itself could probably fit only at a maximum of eight people. She tapped her foot nervously in the silent room. _What does Doctor Sonozaki want to discuss with us? She said it was about my health._ She could probably think of a hundred things that could be wrong with her, but she didn't want to indulge into the idea of them too much.

The only thing that made this situation less uncomfortable was that she was wearing her actual clothes instead of a hospital gown. It made the hospital less foreign and overwhelming. She was snapped from her thoughts when there was a knock at the door. The door opened to reveal her parents. Sakura stood from her chair and rushed over to them as the duo hugged her tightly. "Hello, Sweetie." Jun greeted.

"I missed you." Sakura said.

"We missed you too." Ken responded. "How are you?"

"I'm better."

"That's good to hear."

Sakura nodded and looked to see Doctor Sonozaki behind them. She smiled to the trio and shut the door behind her. "Please, have a seat." She said.

The trio did as they were told and took their seats as the doctor sat at the head of the table. "Alright, so do you two know why you're here?" she asked looking to Sakura's parents.

"Is something wrong with Sakura?" Jun asked.

"I would not prefer to use the term 'wrong'. I'd rather call it a… psychological abnormality."

"What would this abnormality be?" Ken asked.

Doctor Sonozaki turned one of her papers over. "Well, judging from our past sessions and the symptoms she's experiencing, I'd say…" Sakura held her breath as she awaited an answer. _What could it be?_ "Sakura seems to be suffering from a case of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, along with a case of Panic Disorder. The most logical, and obvious, reason for these conditions are due to her incidents with her traumatic injury and the kidnapping."

Sakura's parents both gasped as they processed this information. Sakura held her hands tightly together as she felt a chill go up her spine. _Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Panic Disorder… what does this mean? What will happen now?_

"You three seem a bit unfamiliar with the concept of these psychological illnesses." Doctor Sonozaki said. "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is often caused by witnessing or experiencing a terrifying event, which I have already given examples of in her case. Symptoms sometimes don't start until months or even years after said event. As for Panic Disorder, this is most likely caused from the stress of these events, but was not finally triggered until her experience with the car."

"What do you plan to do about this?" Jun asked.

"Well, I'd still like for Sakura to come here for regular sessions. I'd also start her on some anti-depressants. Those should help control her symptoms, but it will not guarantee that they'll just go away."

Jun and Ken nodded. Ken turned towards his daughter and spoke. "Does that sound alright, Sakura?"

She was still shocked from this diagnosis and had to find her voice somewhere from within herself. "I suppose so."

"And how do you two feel about this?" Doctor Sonozaki asked.

The duo looked to each other. "We're just worried about her, is all." Jun said. "But, we're open to anything that'll help her get better."

"I'm happy to hear that. I appreciate you two coming here on a short notice and it was nice to meet you."

 **X.X.X**

Later that evening, when her parents had already left, Sakura was moved into a different room in the hospital, where the only difference was that her new room had a phone in it. Meaning that she could actually communicate with people other than the doctors and nurses. The first thing she did was call Seto. She needed to tell him what was going on. After explaining her diagnosis to him, the young brunet remained silent on the other end.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Sakura questioned.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Seto answered. "I want to make sure of this."

"Wh-what? What do you mean?"

Sakura fell silent when she heard the long beep on the other end. _Why did he hang up? Is he really going to come here?_ Sakura placed the phone back on the wall while she sat and waited for the brunet's supposed arrival. After a good fifteen minutes, Sakura began to hear a nurse talking to someone out in the hallway.

"Sir please, visiting hours are almost over, you may come back tomorrow." The nurse insisted.

She heard the person walk past the nurse and open the door to her room. Sakura was met face-to-face with Seto. Sakura smiled and jumped off of her hospital bed and into Seto's arms. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and continued to smile. "I missed you, Seto." She said.

Seto did not give a response. Instead, he claimed her lips in a sweet kiss. She melted into this passionate kiss while she threaded her fingers through his dark hair. They had both missed this feeling through the past couple of weeks and now they had it again. After several seconds, the couple pulled away from each other searching for air.

"I'm glad you're here, Seto." Sakura said. "I'm worried about all of this."

"There's nothing to worry about. I'll fix this." Seto responded.

This statement by him began to puzzle her. "What do you mean 'fix'?"

Seto grunted. "Hmph, these idiots are _obviously_ making some sort of mistake. That cheap diagnosis can't be real."

Sakura took a step back from him. "What are you talking about? I know you don't trust doctors or anything, but do you really think they'd lie about it?"

"I don't see what would keep them from doing so."

"That's ridiculous! Can't you be open-minded for once? I thought you'd care more!"

"I _do_ care, that's why I'm trying to figure out what the hell is going on."

"Well, I already told you on the phone! Why can't you accept that?"

"I don't believe in anything that isn't true."

"Well, it _is_ true! You're wrong."

"I'm never wrong."

Sakura took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. She didn't need to be anymore stressed out than she already was. Although, she couldn't figure out why he was being so stubborn about this. It was mostly just due to his stubborn and adamant nature. Sakura looked up at him apologetically only to see a certain hardness in his eyes. He was not angry, but rather just acting insensitive.

Seto sighed and looked towards the door. "I trust you Sakura, but I'm figuring this out on my own."

With that said, Seto walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Sakura let out a heavy sigh and sat back on her bed. She brought her knees to her chest and held herself in silence. A few tears slid down her cheeks as her body shook.

 **x.x**

 **Yep, I'm an awful person. Good for me. Seto's kind of having denial issues. His whole reaction was what probably made this chapter difficult. Also, regarding the diagnosis and all that, I'm still not a doctor, I'm just relying on the info I got off of the Internet. So, if anyone feels insulted that I screwed something up, I apologize. Also, apparently, I've been nicknamed after a torturer from Higurashi named Shion. Go figure. It fits with my love of torturing my characters. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!**


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn't until a couple of days later was Sakura finally released from the hospital, along with instruction to continue seeing her psychiatrist and to begin taking the medication she was prescribed. Even though these two tasks annoyed her, she was just happy to be home. The only thing that made her a bit unnerved over the matter was that she hadn't spoken to Seto since that one evening. It seemed obvious to her that he was angry with her and she had no interest in contacting him only to increase his irritation.

Sakura sat on her bed reading a book to distract herself from her racing thoughts. She looked up from the pages and looked to the wall in deep thought. She shook from her trance and sighed upon setting down her book. The house was entirely lonely that day. Both of her parents were at work, making things unbearably quiet. The silent house also just made her tense. It had been exactly like that the time she was kidnapped. She trembled just thinking about it. _No, I shouldn't think of any of that now. I can't slip into another panic attack._ She took a deep breath and waited for her tenseness and anxiety to pass.

A sudden knock downstairs at the front door made her jump and fall onto the floor. She scrambled back to her feet and tried to keep her knees from collapsing from under her. A pit settled in her stomach as she tried to control her shaky breath. _Okay, calm down, it can't be someone dangerous, right?_ Although, her panic was making her doubt her thoughts. She shakily began to walk to one of the front windows, although she found it hard to keep her balance. She peaked through the window down at the porch. A familiar figure stood there rather impatiently. _Is that… Seto?_ There was no mistake that the person certainly resembled him. _That has to be him. But, why is he here?_

Sakura headed down the stairs and stood in front of the front door. She unlocked it and peered outside to see the young brunet staring at her. He did not look pleased to be there, but certainly far from angry. "What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

"I believe you're supposed to invite me in before you start asking questions." He responded.

Sakura nodded and stepped aside as he entered the home. She closed the door as the brunet looked to her. "So, why are you here?" Sakura questioned again.

"Perhaps those doctors aren't as ignorant as I thought." Seto said avoiding her gaze.

Sakura crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You said you trusted me, so why couldn't you just listen to what I told you?"

"How do you expect me to trust you if I didn't even trust the people who gave you that information?"

"Well, that's not fair then! You're still acting like you can't even trust me!"

"I _do_ trust you, it's them I don't trust."

"You're acting like there's no difference though."

"Why are you making such a big deal over this?"

"Because I thought you'd care more about my health!"

"I _do_ care."

"Well, you certainly don't seem like-"

Sakura was cut off when Seto's lips were on hers. She stood there in shock briefly before she soon melted into the kiss. The feeling of his lips on hers sent warmth through her body. It was comforting. But, this feeling soon faded once puzzlement settled in her mind. She stepped away from the kiss and looked towards the floor.

Seto looked to her intently. He waited patiently for her to tell him what was the matter because he felt that he didn't need to ask.

"How are you okay with this?" Sakura quietly asked.

"You'll need to be more specific." He remarked.

"Me! How are you okay with being in a relationship with me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"How can you bare to stay with me when my mind is as fragile as it is?"

"Don't be absurd. What possessed you to ask that?"

"I'm a mess, Seto! I've been in constant paranoia through this and I can barely keep a grip on things! I nearly killed a guy for crying out loud!"

Seto remained silent as he looked at her sternly.

"So, why are you even still here? I could end up hurting you next!"

"And you think I care?"

"I just don't want anything to happen to you, Seto! My state of mind is not going to be easy on you!"

"Life isn't easy on me, Sakura. You should know that."

"That's not the point! I just don't want you to feel obligated to stay with me through pity. It would be better for you to just give up on me. I'm not worth being with you anymore."

"Seto Kaiba doesn't give up on anything."

Sakura looked at him through wide eyes. _How can he want to stay with me?_ Tears began to prick at her eyes, although she tried to blink them back. Suddenly, she leaned forward and began to sob into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her as her tears began to dampen his shirt. "I just don't get why you'd want to stay with someone like me." She sobbed.

"Will you stop it with that already?" he snapped. "I don't care about all this psychological stuff; I told you I'd fix it, didn't I?"

Sakura looked up at him and wiped away a few tears. "I just didn't think you'd be able to tolerate me."

"I love you for a reason, Sakura. Some ridiculous medical condition won't change that."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you."

Seto rolled his eyes. "Hmph, I thought that would've been painfully obvious."

Sakura giggled. "Maybe so, but I still want to thank you for it. And… I love you too."

The distance between them closed as their lips were met in another sweet kiss. The task ahead would be difficult, but at least they had each other.

 **x.x**

 **Oh my God. This chapter though… it's just, ugh! I want to apologize for the shortness and the bullshit quality of it. I'm not satisfied with it either. Plus, I think Seto might be OOC. If you excuse me, I'm going to drive my head into a wall. But, I _promise_ next chapter will be a lot better. What I have planned will be fun. I just hope this chapter was tolerable. Let me know what you guys think and I'll talk to you next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

Seto sat in his home office typing furiously at the keys to his computer. _Why can't these idiots do their jobs correctly?_ He growled as he replaced another line of codes into the system. He paused when he heard a knock at the door. He released an irritated sigh. _I thought I told them not to bother me today._ Seto stood from his chair and unlocked the door to his office.

"Hi, Seto. I'm not bothering you, am I?" Sakura asked standing across from him.

Seto glanced to his computer and then back to her. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"Are you doubting me?" he said heading back to his chair.

"No, I just wasn't sure. Sorry." Sakura leaned against the back of his desk chair as he typed. She stood there in silence just listening to the soft sound of the keyboard clicking rapidly. A smile spread across her lips.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Seto asked.

"I just like watching you work."

Seto turned his head towards her. It was then that he noticed something. Although no one else would've noticed it, he could clearly see the make-up hastily applied under her eyes. His guess was that they were covering dark circles. She did actually look quite tired. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. I just didn't sleep a whole lot last night."

"Why is that?"

Sakura shrugged. "I just had a couple nightmares. It's nothing to worry about."

"I care to disagree." Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. "If it wasn't as bad as you say, then I'd assume you'd be capable of sleeping through the night."

Sakura sighed. "I don't want to talk about it, Seto. It doesn't matter now."

Seto stared at her, looking unconvinced. He shrugged and then turned back towards his work. "I'll be working here for a while. If you don't want to stick around, then I suggest you come back tomorrow."

"Will you be done working by tonight?"

"It's not impossible."

Sakura smiled. "I'm willing to take that chance. I can stay here until you're done."

Seto stared at her. "It'll be a while."

"That doesn't matter. You know, I haven't seen Mokuba in a while. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we hung out until you're done."

"Do whatever you want." Seto said continuing his constant clicking at the keyboard.

Sakura nodded. "Alright." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking out of his home office. She walked down the hall towards the younger Kaiba's bedroom. She came to a stop at the closed door and gave a quick knock.

"Coming." The young teen's voice said from inside. The door opened to reveal the young ebony-haired boy. "Hey, Sakura! What're you doing here?"

"Hi Mokuba." Sakura smiled. "Your brother's working a majority of the day, so I thought we could hang out until then."

"Yeah, sure! Come on in." Sakura stepped inside as Mokuba moved out of the way. Mokuba began to look through the shelves of board and video games that he owned, which was a very plentiful collection. He grabbed a board game and held it out to her. "Alright, here's something we can play."

 **X.X.X**

A matter of hours had passed since the duo had started their games. They'd gone through game after game, each one issuing a new level of enjoyment. Currently, the two sat across from each other playing yet another board game. Sakura watched as Mokuba rolled the dice and moved his pawn across the board. "So, Sakura," Mokuba said. Sakura looked up at him. "Do you have any college plans?"

Sakura sighed. "It'll be sometime in the future."

"Do you know what your major will be?"

"No, not really. I'd be kind of going in there blind."

"Well, there'll be something out there for you."

"Yeah, I know." Sakura realized it was her turn and rolled the dice. She began to move her pawn closer to the end of the board, although Mokuba's piece was already ahead of hers.

"Speaking of which, when do you plan on starting college?"

Sakura shrugged. "I was planning on starting this year, but some things got in the way. I'm not sure when I'll start it at this rate."

Mokuba nodded when he realized what she was referring to. "How are you doing with everything?"

"I'm alright. Although, things could be better."

Mokuba looked at her and saw the downcast look in her eyes. "I understand if you don't want to talk about it. Let's just finish the game."

Sakura nodded and the two continued their game. Both of their pawns were in close range to the end of the board. Mokuba carefully rolled the dice and waited for the number of spaces he'd move. The dice landed and a grin spread across his face. He moved his piece the number of spaces, which reached him to the finish line.

"Yes! Looks like I win this time, Sakura!" he cheered.

Sakura smiled. "I'm glad. That was a good game, Mokuba."

Mokuba nodded returning the smile.

"So, what should we do next?"

Mokuba glanced up to the clock hanging from the wall. It was past evening at this point and drifting into nighttime. He thought for a moment. "I have an idea. How about we have a movie night? I'm sure Seto should be done with his work by now."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Awesome! I'll go get some DVD's, you get Seto."

Sakura nodded as the ebony-haired teen began making his way downstairs. She stood up and made her way towards the Seto's home office. She reached the closed door and gave it a knock. Upon hearing the brunet's permission to enter, she stepped inside the office.

"What is it?" Seto asked glancing up from his computer.

"Are you almost done with your work?" Sakura questioned.

"Nearly. Why do you ask?"

"Mokuba wanted to have a movie night. He wants you there too."

"I can't. I'm busy."

"But, you just said you were almost done with your work."

"Yes, _today's_ work. I plan on starting tomorrow's project early."

Sakura frowned. "Oh, come on, Seto. Take just a few hours off. Work is not made to be an all-day thing."

"That's your opinion."

"I'm being serious, Seto."

"So am I."

Sakura sighed. "You know what, never mind. We'll just watch it without you."

Without another word, Sakura left the room. She made her way downstairs and headed into the living room where Mokuba was sitting by the television looking through a stack of DVD's. He looked up to Sakura and noticed his brother was not there. "Where's Seto?" he asked.

"He's not coming. He's working." Sakura sighed as she sat down on the couch.

Mokuba frowned. He grabbed one of the DVD's and put the rest away. "Well, it's his loss then."

 **X.X.X**

Seto let out a tired sigh as he stared at his computer screen. He looked at the time to see that it was nearly midnight. _It's been a while since Sakura and Mokuba started watching that movie. I should go check on them._ He stood up from his desk chair and left his office. He headed down the stairs as he heard music coming from the living room. He walked in there to see that the credits for the movie were rolling and both Sakura and Mokuba were sleeping.

He sighed and walked over to the television to turn the movie off. He took the DVD out as the television went back to its normal programming. Seto turned towards his brother and nudged him lightly. Mokuba opened his tired eyes to see his brother staring at him. "Oh, hey Seto." He yawned.

"The movie's over, Mokuba. You should get to bed."

"Right." Mokuba stood up and stretched. "What about Sakura?"

Seto glanced to the sleeping light-haired brunette. "I'll take care of it."

"Okay. Goodnight, Seto."

Seto watched his brother head up the stairs and soon looked towards Sakura. He glanced up when the television program went black until a news icon pulled up. The words "Breaking News" were bolded and highlighted in red across the screen. Seto watched the screen through curiosity. A female news anchor appeared on the screen with a stern expression on her face. "Good evening, we apologize for interrupting your nightly programming, but we have some breaking news."

Seto snorted. _Obviously. Did the title of the broadcast not tip you off?_

The woman continued her broadcast. "We have reports that at exactly 11:54 pm tonight, there was a prison break. Here is a photo of the subject." A photo of a grim looking man flashed on the screen. Seto did not know where, but he recognized the man. "The subject was arrested on numerous charges, including that of trespassing and attempted murder. The man's name is…" Seto stared intently at the screen. Something about this person seemed all too familiar. "Hirotani." The woman finished.

Seto stared in shock at the television. Now he knew exactly who that person was. _He's that snake that shot Sakura._ He felt rage boil up inside of him as he recalled the incident. He was snapped away from his thoughts when he heard Sakura begin to stir. He immediately turned off the television as she looked up at him. _I can't tell her about Hirotani. I don't need her panicking on me._ "Seto?" she questioned. "What time is it?"

Seto straightened his features and looked at her. "After midnight. You should head home."

"Yeah, you're right." She stood up and made her way to the door with Seto following her. She began to put her shoes on as she spoke. "It'll be pretty dark on my walk home."

"It wouldn't be wise to walk home alone in the dark. I'll my driver to drive you home."

"Oh, okay. Thank you."

Seto nodded as he went to call his driver. After a few minutes, Seto returned where Sakura was waiting by the door. "He'll be outside in a moment."

"Okay. I appreciate it. You didn't have to call your driver around."

Seto remained silent. He didn't want to reveal his actual intension for doing so. It was that walking alone at night could make things dangerous for her regarding Hirotani. The two looked up to see the flash of headlights outside.

"Well, I'll be seeing you soon, Seto."

She gave him a quick peck on the lips before heading out the door. Seto sighed once the door had shut. _Great, another thing to make my life more difficult._

 **x.x**

 **Ha. Ha. Ha! Yeah, that's right, Hirotani is coming back, people! Get ready for all the drama! Yeah, but anyways, this'll be fun. I also finished this anime called Mirai Nikki today and that show is THE shizzle, guys. The ending was AMAZING! I'm not going to lie, that ending is probably going to affect how I end this story (although, without the supernatural stuff, I'm speaking character-wise) or the ending to another sequel, whichever I eventually decide on. Anyhoo, enough of my little rants, I hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll talk to you next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

Seto looked at the duo sitting across from him. He did not know what they were doing in the presence of his mansion, especially due to the fact that they came uninvited. He crossed his arms in front of his chest while he waited for one of the two people on the other side of the table to give an explanation. The man looked toward his wife and then back to Seto. "Kaiba, we have a favor to ask of you." Ken said.

"What is it?" Seto questioned.

"I assume by now that you have heard of Hirotani's escape from prison, right?" Seto nodded. "We haven't mentioned anything about it to Sakura, although we're certain that she's unaware of it."

"Just tell me what you want already."

"We were hoping that you'd let Sakura stay in your mansion with you." Jun chimed in. Seto raised an eyebrow. "You see, Sakura has already suffered a lot in our home, and we don't really have the protection she needs in case Hirotani decides to come after her again. We were hoping that she'd be better protected in your care."

"You're asking me to do your job of protecting her." Seto simply stated.

"Well, yes," Ken said. "But, please. Just do this until Hirotani is caught and arrested again."

"And what about your daughter? I thought you said she didn't know about Hirotani's escape."

"No, she doesn't. We haven't said anything to her in fear of her panicking, which she's already had enough to worry about in these past few weeks." Ken shared a glance with Jun. "We'd hate to do this, but in order to further protect her mental state; we'll have to lie about it."

Jun gave a sad nod. "Aside from that, parting with our daughter also isn't in our best interest, but it's our only option."

Seto sighed. "Bring her here tomorrow afternoon. As for your made up lie to her, that's your own problem."

"Thank you. We really appreciate it."

"I'm not doing this for you; I'm doing it for her."

"Right, of course."

"Now I suggest you head back to your house and find a reasonable excuse for Sakura to come live here."

"Very well. We'll come by tomorrow with her."

Seto nodded.

"It was nice seeing you again, Kaiba." Jun added.

With that said, the Takahashi duo left, leaving the young brunet in silence.

 **X.X.X**

Sakura lay on her bed indulging herself in a book. She found reading to be one of her few pastimes nowadays. At least it kept her entertained and relaxed. She looked up upon hearing a knock at her bedroom door. She set her book down on her nightstand. "Come in." she said.

Jun peaked her head inside. "Sweetie, you're not busy, are you?"

"No."

"Can we talk to you for a moment then?"

Sakura nodded as her parents entered the room. This made her nervous though. These kind of talks weren't regular, they were usually only when something concerning was going on. The duo sat down on her bed beside her and looked at their daughter. "What is this about?" Sakura questioned.

"You look nervous, Sweetie. It's nothing to be scared of."

"Oh, okay."

"So, listen," Ken said. "Your mother and I got a call from work and they want us to go on a business trip tomorrow."

"Isn't that a bit sudden?"

"Well, yes, but the people who were supposed to go called in sick for the next few days."

"How long is the trip?"

"They didn't give us a time. But, it could be a while."

"So," Jun continued. "We thought that in the mean time, you could stay at Seto's house."

"I don't know. I wouldn't want to burden him."

"You won't. We've already talked it over with him."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. Something seemed a bit suspicious to her. Since when would they voluntarily go speak to Seto? _Well, they do sound pretty sincere. Besides, I don't think they'd really lie to me… right?_ She mentally shook herself. _That'd be absurd. There's no reason why they would._

"Okay, I suppose so. I guess as long as he's alright with it."

Her parents smiled at her. "Good. We're going to drive you over there tomorrow. So, you mind as well start packing up all your stuff tonight."

"What should I pack?"

"Just whatever you want to bring. Although, you could be there for quite a while, so don't pack lightly."

"Alright."

Jun and Ken nodded and stepped out of their daughter's room. They shut the door behind them and walked a ways down the hallway so they wouldn't be heard. "What happens if she finds out that we lied to her?" Jun asked worriedly.

"We'll just have to hope she'll forgive us." Ken replied.

 **X.X.X**

Sakura knocked at the door to the Kaiba Manor. After waiting a few minutes, Seto himself opened the door. "Hi Seto." She greeted him with a quick peck on the lips.

He nodded and stepped out of the way so she could enter. She entered the mansion with a suitcase rolling behind her. Her parents followed after her with her father carrying a small duffle bag. Sakura grabbed the bag from him and hung it on her shoulder. "Are you sure you don't need help unpacking?" Jun asked.

"No, I'll be fine." Sakura said. "Besides, don't you have to leave for your business trip soon?"

Seto had to resist snorting. _Seriously? That's the best lie they could come up with? How pathetic. Even my idiot employees could make a better one._

"Right, we do." Ken cut in. "We'll call you sometime soon, Sakura. We love you."

"I love you too." Sakura gave her parents a tight hug as she bid farewell to them.

When the three let go of their embrace, Sakura's parents said goodbye and left. Sakura watched them leave and sighed. She turned towards Seto. "Does something about this seem off to you?" she asked.

"What?"

"I mean, it seems oddly sudden that they'd need to go on a business trip so soon. And also the fact that they decided to ask you to let me stay here right away. They've never confronted you before about anything."

 _Well, at least she's not being naïve about this situation,_ Seto thought. _Not to say that she ever was._ "Whatever. I'll show you to your room." Seto headed over to the staircase with Sakura following closely behind him.

Sakura looked to the ground as they climbed the stairs. Maybe it was just her then. Perhaps it did seem suspicious, but not everything around her was clear at the moment. The duo headed down the upstairs hallway and Seto stopped in front of one of the doors. He opened it up and stepped aside for her to walk in. She walked inside and set her suitcase down near the closet. "Thank you, Seto." She smiled.

He nodded. "I trust you remember that my room is at the end of the hall."

Sakura thought for a moment. That was only a couple rooms away from this one. "Right. I'll tell you if I need anything."

Seto nodded and stepped out of the room as Sakura started to unpack her suitcase. He wondered how long it would be until she discovered the real reason she was here.

 **x.x**

 **Well, there's another chapter for you guys. It's a short one at that, but this one I can tolerate, even though the ending is a bit rushed. I'm actually kind of surprised that I popped this one out so quickly, I thought it would be at least until tomorrow that I'd get it done. But hey, I have no complaints. I'm actually already starting to gather some thoughts for _way_ future chapters once this arc is over, and that'll be _real_ fun. Anyways, I'll talk to you guys next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

Seto typed away at the keys to his computer. He looked away from the screen and picked up a stack of that day's reports and shuffled through them. He grabbed one of the reports and put it at the top of the stack before continuing to type. His attention was once again averted when he heard the door to his home office open. Mokuba stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.

"What is it, Mokuba?" Seto asked. "I'm busy."

"Have you watched the news lately?" Mokuba questioned.

"What part of I'm busy do you not understand?"

"Well, Hirotani is all over the news. Apparently, he escaped from prison."

"I knew that."

"Oh. Well, does Sakura know?"

"No. And I have no intentions of telling her."

"Why not?"

Seto paused his typing and looked at his brother. "Do you realize what would happen? I don't wish to watch her go through another panic attack."

"Well, she'll have to figure it out sometime. Also, if Hirotani is on the loose though, don't you think Sakura should have some kind of protection?"

"That's why she's here."

"Are you saying her parents lied to her?"

"That's exactly what it was."

Mokuba sighed. This was more elaborate than he thought.

"Where is Sakura right now?" Seto asked continuing his typing.

"She's in her room. I don't think she can hear us."

"Good. Make sure to keep her away from watching the news until I figure out what to do with this."

"It won't be easy though."

"Not everything is easy, Mokuba. You and I should know that better than anyone."

"Yeah, you're right."

Mokuba proceeded to walk back towards the doorway and exit the office. Seto leaned back and ran his fingers through his dark hair. He stood up from his desk chair and headed out of his office. With a short trip down the hallway, he entered the guest room where Sakura was digging through her suitcase on the floor. "Oh, hey Seto." She greeted.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Just finishing unpacking."

"I thought you did that last night."

"Most of it." She paused to put a couple of shirts in the closet. "I didn't finish because I got too tired."

"You still look tired."

"Oh, well, I didn't sleep much." she grabbed a pair of pants and folded it before she put it in one of the dresser drawers. "So, is there something you need?"

Seto remained silent as he stared at her. Sakura gave him a questionable look until she glanced across the room upon hearing her phone ring. As Sakura got up to answer her phone, Seto took this opportunity to leave. He didn't want to seem too concerned with her safety at this point. He didn't want to give her more the reason to be suspicious.

Sakura looked at her phone and saw that her mother was calling her. "Hello?" she answered.

"Hi Sweetie, I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm fine."

"That's good. What are you up to?"

"I just finished unpacking. How's the business trip going?"

Sakura noticed that her mother gave a short pause before she spoke again. "It's going well."

"Oh, okay. Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

Another pause. "Why would you say that?"

"I don't know, it's probably just my imagination."

"Alright, Sweetie. I have to get back to work. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

Sakura hung up and sighed. Perhaps it was just her imagination.

 **X.X.X**

Seto stood in the kitchen getting himself another cup of coffee. He poured the hot liquid into his mug and sipped from it. He glanced up when he heard Mokuba enter the room. He held that day's mail in his hands. "Hey Seto," he started. "There's a letter here addressed to Sakura."

Seto raised an eyebrow and set down his coffee mug. "Give it to me."

Mokuba took the envelope from the top of the pile and handed it to the brunet. Seto looked at the writing on it. It didn't have an address or even a stamp, it only said her name. He forcefully tore open the envelope to reveal a single slip of paper inside. Only two sentences were written there. **It's been a while, hasn't it? It'll be nice to watch you play the victim again.**

Seto's stare hardened at the letter. There was no evidence as to who sent the letter but Seto saw it as plainly obvious. He crumbled up the note and gave it back to Mokuba. "Throw this in the fireplace." He demanded.

Mokuba nodded and left the room. As he did so, Sakura entered the room and looked towards Seto. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing. What do you need?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm going for a walk around town. I won't be long."

"You're not leaving the mansion."

"What? Why?"

"I don't need you collapsing and having another panic attack." This was only partially his reasoning; his other was that he didn't want her to run into _him._

"Seto, I'll be fine."

"No, you're not leaving."

"You sound like my mother."

"I don't care. You're staying here."

Sakura sighed in irritation. _Why is he being like this all of the sudden?_ "Fine, I'll be upstairs. I don't know why you're acting like this Seto, but I'll eventually find out why."

"Sakura-"

She left the room before he could finish. He let out a frustrated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. This definitely wasn't easy.

Sakura reached the top of the stairs and headed back into her room. She closed the door behind her and sat down against the door. _Why won't anybody tell me what's going on? What is so important that it needs hiding?_ She sighed. _I'll have to figure it out on my own at this rate._

 **x.x**

 **Dang, I popped this chapter out fast. I guess I'm just in a writing mood today. I just started off and just kept going. As you may have already guessed, this is another filler chapter, so I apologize for the shortness and the lack of action. Although, I think it had some pretty decent stuff in there. Hopefully. I just hope it was enjoyable. And I'll see you guys next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

"No! Dang it! How'd you pass me?" Mokuba said with a smile on his face.

"Mokuba, they created items in this game for a reason." Sakura laughed.

The duo sat on the carpeted floor of the game room in front of the television playing a game of Mario Kart. It was Mokuba's idea for them to play. Currently, they were trying to pass each other to get into first place. Their two vehicles were practically neck and neck. "What lap did we just pass?" Mokuba asked. "I'm too in the zone."

"We're on three." Sakura reminded him.

He nodded as his character, Yoshi, drove through an item block. He became more alert when he heard an alarming and an annoying beeping coming from the game. Before he knew it, he had been hit with a blue shell. "What! But I didn't get to use my item yet!" he pouted. He watched as Sakura's Rosalina sped past him. "Hey! That wasn't fair!"

"How so? I'm not the one who fired the shell at you; it was one of the computer players." Sakura couldn't wipe away the smile at her lips.

Mokuba sighed and tried to keep up with the race. He looked up to see that the attack had left him in sixth place, while Sakura was ahead of him in first. "Okay, we're doing another stage." Mokuba declared.

"Sure, which one?"

"How about Rainbow Road?"

"Yeah, that seems like fun."

Mokuba smirked to himself. It was Sakura's first time playing the game, so she didn't know how utterly infuriating the stage was. Lucky for him though, was that he had practically mastered it by now. Once the race had begun, Sakura began to realize how difficult it was. All the while, Mokuba was excelling at it.

"Oh my gosh." Sakura sighed as Rosalina fell off the track. "Why is this one so difficult?"

Mokuba shrugged. "Who knows?"

"You picked it because of the difficulty, didn't you?"

"Yep."

Sakura smiled as she shook her head. The duo soon heard footsteps coming from down the hallway. They glanced up to see the brunet CEO enter the room. "Hey Seto." Mokuba said while keeping his eyes on the game.

"What are you two doing?" he asked.

"Playing Mario Kart. I'm kicking Sakura's butt."

"Hey!" she cried. "I'm not doing _too_ terribly." She frowned as one of the computer players knocked her off of the track. Again. "So, how was work, Seto?"

"Idiotic." He responded. "I'm surprised I got anything done at all."

She nodded. "Well, it's a good thing you did."

"Oh yeah!" Mokuba cheered. "First place! And what place did you come in..?"

"Tenth."

Mokuba continued to grin.

Seto smirked. "I didn't know you'd let yourself get beat by a fourteen year old." He said to Sakura.

"Winning isn't everything, Seto." She replied.

"That's your opinion."

She shook her head and kissed his cheek. "Oh well."

Mokuba looked up at them once he took the disc out of the game console. "Hey, do you guys want to do anything else?"

"What time is it?" Sakura asked.

Mokuba glanced up. "A little past eight-thirty."

Sakura shrugged and looked up at Seto. "I can't. I still have work to do." He said.

"Oh, okay. I guess maybe tomorrow then?"

"I'm fine with that." Sakura smiled.

Seto shrugged and headed out of the room. Sakura walked out of the room next and into her bedroom. She sat down onto her bed and grabbed her phone. Now that she had some time, she could finally look up what the recent news was that nobody would tell her about. She pulled up the internet and began to type in a web address when her phone began to ring in her hands. A new screen pulled up as a confused look formed on her face. _Incoming call? That's weird. I don't recognize the number._

She shrugged and answered the call anyways. "Hello?"

"Hello Takahashi."

Sakura froze. She felt like she recognized the voice. _Could it be..? N-no, it can't be. It's got to be my imagination._ She tried to take a deep breath, but her entire body was still shaking. "Wh-who is t-this?"

She heard a chuckle coming from the man on the other end. "You've forgotten already? You victims are so stupid. I'll give you a hint… Do you remember your gunshot wound?"

Sakura felt her body tense further. It _was_ him. She felt the grip on her phone loosen until the device had dropped onto the carpet. As it fell, she heard the sound of a click coming from the device. He hung up. A loud scream echoed throughout her room. She looked around, but no one was there. Just who was the one who had screamed? After a few seconds, she realized that her mouth was wide open. It came from her own mouth.

She wasn't completely aware of the things around her, but she heard something in the hallway. Her fear began to get the better of her and she felt like she couldn't breathe. _He's here. I know it. He's already in the house. He's going to kill me._ She held her knees close to her chest because she knew there was nothing else she could do. There was nowhere to run or hide.

The door opened and someone stepped into the room, but she didn't see who because her face was buried in her hands. "Sakura? Sakura! What happened?"

 _Is that Seto? It must be, but… I can't make myself look up._ She heard him walk closer to her until he was right next to her bed. He noticed her trembling and sat down on the bed next to her. "Sakura, look at me." he said.

She glanced up at him through glossy eyes. She was trying to fight back tears. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him tightly so she could cling to something. He was taken aback by this sudden affection, but soon put his arms around her. The duo sat there in silence albeit the sound of Sakura attempting to control her breathing. Her eyes darted around the room carefully to make sure she was safe. It appeared that she was. She began to steady herself and try to stop the shaking.

Once she felt that she was stable, she released herself from Seto and looked at him. "I'm sorry for screaming." She said.

"Why did you?" he questioned.

Her gaze traveled down to the carpet where her cell phone laid. She looked at it intently for several seconds before she tore her eyes away from it. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly until she deemed that she was capable of clear speech. "I-I got a phone call." She said.

"From who?"

Sakura sat in silence for a moment. She wrapped her arms around herself as she tried to search for her answer. "Him." She responded. Those were the only words she could get out.

"Being vague about it doesn't help your predicament."

She closed her eyes and began to find her answer. "Hirotani." She let out the word as quickly as she could speak it.

Seto raised one of his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

Sakura hugged herself tighter. "Hirotani called me."

 _Damn it, I should've known something like this would've happened,_ he thought. He glanced towards the floor and picked up Sakura's discarded phone. He searched through to the recent calls and found the number where Hirotani had called from. He then grabbed his own phone from his pocket and dialed in a number. He waited for the ringing to cease until the person had picked up. "Roland, it's me," he said firmly. "I need you to trace a number for me." He displayed the number to Roland, waiting for a response.

"Mister Kaiba," Roland's voice responded. "We've used our satellite cameras and that number belongs to a payphone downtown."

Seto grunted and pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed. "Alright. I want extra security at the mansion tonight though."

"Yes, Mister Kaiba."

Seto hung up his phone and turned his attention back towards Sakura. "H-how?" she asked. She blinked back a couple of tears. "How could he have called me? Did he escape from prison?"

"A few days ago."

Sakura looked up at him. "W-what?"

He held back a grunt. He hated having to repeat himself. "He escaped from prison a few days ago."

Sakura looked at him through wide eyes. She didn't realize it had been going on that long. Her thoughts paused for a moment. _Did he..?_ "You knew?"

Seto remained silent as he looked at her.

"You did, didn't you?"

"I'd have to be stupid not to. Last I checked, Seto Kaiba is no moron."

Sakura began to glare at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't have any intention of watching you have another panic attack in front of me."

"Well, I just had one! If you're not a moron, then you would've anticipated that it'd happen eventually!"

Seto pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, I didn't think you were ready to know then."

"Isn't it obvious that I'm still not ready to know now? Seto, I panicked about it! It would've happened either way!"

"I was trying to protect you."

Sakura scoffed. "Oh yeah, you've done a great job with that so far. What were you doing when I was shot and then kidnapped? I didn't see you trying to protect me then! You were just minding your own business inside the comfort of your mansion!"

Seto's stare began to harden. "Excuse me? Who was the one who came to save you? I didn't know you were that blinded."

"Oh, grow up. I don't remember you rushing yourself to save me."

"Whatever."

"You know what, get out of my room."

"You should remember whose mansion this is."

"I don't care. Leave me alone."

Seto rolled his eyes. He stood up from the bed and strode over to the doorway, slamming the door behind him.

 **x.x**

 **Goody. They're both pissed at each other. Also, hooray for tone shifts! I feel the last half of the chapter might've been a bit rushed, but I don't know. And hey! Guess what? I'm starting a new story! But, it's not just any story, it's a collab! FutureStar27 and I are writing one between Sakura and her OC, Alissa. You can just smell that drama because they're both paired with Seto. The story is titled A Step Too Far and it's on our collab account called Sakura and Alissa. Heh, see what we did there? Anyways, if any of you have read both of our stories, then go check it out! Peace out yo!**


	9. Chapter 9

Sakura peeked through the doorway. There was no one there. She proceeded to look down both ends of the hallway. It was completely empty. She gave a long sigh as she leaned against the doorframe. She wasn't ready to face Seto after what had occurred the previous night. _It would probably be better if I just didn't run into anyone._

She stepped away from the doorframe and slowly made her way down the hallway. She didn't know where she was headed, but just a change of scenery would suffice. She wandered around the different hallways unsure where she was being lead. _It would've been nice if I had been given a tour of the whole mansion._ By now, she must've been on the opposite side of the mansion. She stopped when she came to a closed door. Most of the doors were closed anyhow, but this one seemed to intrigue her. This was a part of the mansion that she hadn't ventured in before. She put her ear to the door to make sure nobody was inside. There was no sound. Her hand gripped the handle and opened the door.

It was a quiet and bright room. Windows were all against the back wall, letting the sunlight flood in. There was an unlit fireplace against one of the walls accompanied by a few cushioned chairs. So far, there was nothing significant about the room. However, her gaze stopped once she eyed the piano next to the windows. She slowly shut the door behind her and walked to the piano. Even though it was neatly cleaned, it still looked like no one had played it in a long time. She pressed down on one of the keys and listened to the soft chime that came from it. She had missed that sound. She sat down upon the bench remembering all the correct notes. Before she knew it, she began to play. She quietly hummed to herself before she released a breath and began to sing.

"I linger in the doorway

Of alarm clock screaming

Monsters calling my name.

Let me stay,

Where the wind will whisper to me.

Where the raindrops, as they're falling, tell a story.

In my field of paper flowers,

And candy clouds of lullaby.

I lie inside myself for hours,

And watch my purple sky fly over me.

Don't say I'm out of touch

With this rampant chaos- your reality.

I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge.

The nightmare I built my own world to escape.

Swallowed up in the sound of my screaming.

Cannot cease for the fear of silent nights.

Oh, how I long for the deep sleep dreaming.

The goddess of imaginary light.

In my field of paper flowers,

And candy clouds of lullaby.

I lie inside myself for hours,

And watch my purple sky fly over me."

Sakura released a breath as she played the last chord. She glanced down at the keys in silence. It had been years since she had played and it felt comforting that she had done it again. As she sat there, she was completely unaware of the tall brunet watching her from the now-open doorway.

"At least you're not talentless."

Sakura jumped and turned to the doorway to see Seto there. "Oh Seto, did I disturb you?" she asked.

"I just complimented you; surely it would be obvious that that's far from a disturbance."

"Right, I'm sorry. But, thank you."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the duo. Sakura looked down at the keys of the piano afraid of what to say next as she still felt Seto's presence in the room. "Who taught you how to play?" Seto asked.

"My mother did. Whenever I was upset, she would play for me and it would calm me down. She taught me how to play, but we soon got rid of our piano, so I stopped playing. I suppose I started playing today hoping it would have the same effects it did when I was little."

Seto continued to stare at her.

"Listen, Seto, I-"

"If you're going to say something about last night, then save it. It's in the past."

"I know, but I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"Don't waste my time with your apologies. Your reaction wasn't exactly uncalled for."

"I just understand now that you were trying to protect me. I shouldn't have mentioned what I said about you doing a poor job of protecting me in the past either. I know that those times were difficult. I'm sorry."

"If you were really sorry, then you'd stop apologizing. I have better ways to spend my time then listen to you complain about something that's in the past."

"Yeah, you're right. We shouldn't be fighting in times like this."

"I believe that's the point I'm trying to get across."

Sakura smiled. She stood up from the piano bench and wrapped her arms around him. Seto slowly returned the embrace by putting his arms around her waist. However, he lifted one of his arms to tilt her chin up to face him. Soon, their lips were caught in a passionate kiss. Seto slowly opened his mouth asking for access. Sakura allowed it and their tongues delved into each other's mouths. She slowly pulled away once the need for air became too great. "I love you." She breathed.

"I love you too." He soon captured her lips in another sweet kiss.

 **X.X.X**

"You're still losing." Mokuba smiled.

"I can see that." Sakura answered. She had asked for a rematch in Rainbow Road, but it hadn't worked out the way she had hoped it would. She wasn't improving at all compared to yesterday. Mokuba crossed the finish line in first place once again leaving her in ninth. _I don't get how he's so good at this,_ she thought.

"Do you want to play a different game?" he asked.

"Sure."

Mokuba looked behind him to see his elder sibling on the couch with his laptop. He reluctantly agreed to be there instead of his office due to the amount of begging he was given. "Hey Seto, are you going to join us for this one?"

 _How many times is he going to ask me that?_ "I'm working." He replied.

"But, it'll be better if you join us!"

"I'm busy."

Sakura glanced toward the brunet. "I thought you said that you don't back down from a challenge." She smiled.

Seto let out a low growl. He slammed his laptop shut and stared at the television. "Just give me the controller."

Mokuba grinned and tossed him a spare controller. He moved toward the shelves next to the television and scanned through the different games. "How about a game of Super Smash Bros?"

"That sounds good." Sakura said. "Is that fine with you, Seto?"

"Hmph, this'll be an easy victory for me. You should know I don't go easy on beginners."

Sakura rolled her eyes, smiling. "Just put in the game, Mokuba."

"Alright, let's do this!" Mokuba cheered.

The trio sat around the television as they proceeded to play their game. Their characters hopped about the platform punching and kicking each other trying to get the other's lives to drop to zero. Sakura's Zelda ran a fast hit into Seto's Ike, causing him to fly off the screen. Sakura smiled. "I'm doing pretty well for a beginner." She said.

Seto rolled his eyes. "You're better than I expected, but don't get too excited."

"We'll see how it goes." Sakura's Zelda used one of her special magic attacks and blasted Mokuba's Pit off the screen.

"What! No! That was my last life! I want a rematch!" Mokuba whined.

"Sorry, but at least we're even now."

Mokuba sighed and continued to watch the couple face off with each other. Suddenly, a bright multi-colored light appeared in the corner and created an orb that floated around the field. "What is that?" Sakura asked.

"That's the Final Smash." Mokuba explained. "If you get it, it practically guarantees death for any other player."

"That's why I'm the one who'll get it." Seto declared.

Sakura shook her head in amusement. Zelda quickly jumped up and obtained the Final Smash and went to activate it. However, Ike slashed her with his sword and grabbed the item for himself. Within seconds, Seto had won.

"Hm, I do recall you saying that you're not a beginner. Would you care to change your choice of words?" Seto said.

"You're being smug." Sakura stated.

"I thought that much was obvious."

Sakura smiled and stood up. She stretched her arms and gave a slight yawn. "I think I'm going to bed now. It's getting pretty late. I'll see you two in the morning." Sakura walked out of the game room and headed into her room. After quickly getting ready for bed, she got into bed and nestled under the covers. Her comfort brought her into a deep slumber.

 _Sakura and Seto watched as Kurosawa came to his feet. Blood was dripping from the wound on his shoulder and he was supporting himself using a long, metal pole. He took a few steps closer to the couple. The duo turned towards the doorway and went to run, but Seto was held back. Sakura watched as the pole collided with his skull, causing his body to drop to the ground. She screamed as she lunged for him. She touched his body and found that he was growing colder. She worriedly glanced back to Kurosawa, only to see him reduce to dust. In fact, the warehouse was gone; the duo was stranded within a black void. Sakura looked back to Seto._

 _"Seto! Seto! Wake up!" she yelled._

 _Seto's eyes twitched and opened slightly. He turned his gaze towards her and opened his mouth. A trickle of blood came from the corner of his mouth as he spoke. "Sakura," he said. His voice was hoarse and weak. He didn't even sound like himself._

 _"Seto, don't speak. You're going to be fine. Everything will be alright."_

 _"M' tired." He slurred. His eyes began to gently close._

 _"No, no, no! Seto! Stay awake! You have to!"_

 _Seto's eyes closed shut and Sakura began to sob uncontrollably. There was still blood dripping from his mouth and she noticed the small pool beginning to form around his head. Apart from the sound of her sobs, Sakura heard a soft beeping around her. It sounded like a heart monitor. But, there was no object around them, the sound just echoed. Soon, the beeping increasingly slowed until there was a long flat beep. Sakura knew the flat beep was supposed to signify Seto. He was dead._

 _Her sobs increased as she held his head close to her chest. "Come back, Seto!" she sobbed. She glanced down at her hands cradling Seto. They were stained in blood._

Sakura immediately sat up and let out a loud scream. She felt tears streaming from her eyes as she sobbed. Her eyes rapidly scanned the room. She was in her bedroom. She let out a sigh of relief as she tried to calm herself down. However, she froze when she heard footsteps coming from the hallway. _Oh no, I woke someone._ The door burst open to reveal Seto standing there in his pajamas.

"What happened? What's going on?" he asked as his eyes carefully looked around the room.

Sakura moved her hands to her cheeks to wipe away some of the tears. "It was just a nightmare."

Seto didn't look convinced and took a seat next to her on the bed. He glanced down to where her gaze was looking. "Why are you looking at your hands?"

Sakura continued to stare at them. There was no blood on them, it was only sweat. _It felt too real to be a dream._ She shook her head to try and rid her mind of these thoughts.

"Typically when I ask you a question, I expect an answer."

Sakura looked up at him. "You were dead. There was blood and a heart monitor, but you wouldn't come back."

"It was a dream."

"It felt too real though!"

"In case you haven't noticed already, I'm alive right now."

Sakura sighed. "I know. I just don't like thinking about it."

"So, just forget about it. It wasn't real anyways." Seto stood up from the bed and went to walk to the doorway; however, Sakura grabbed his arm.

"Seto? I'm probably asking a lot from you by saying this, but would you stay with me? Please?"

Seto sighed. "Move." He said.

She obeyed and moved to one side of the bed as he got under the covers next to her. Sakura turned towards him in the darkness. "Thank you," she said. "For staying with me, I mean. I know you're uncomfortable with this stuff."

"If I felt uncomfortable, then I wouldn't have done it."

"You're right, sorry. Goodnight Seto."

"Goodnight Sakura."

 **x.x**

 **Alright, another chapter down, and it's fluffy at times too! I had some trouble with the beginning of the chapter, not because of the content, but because my ass was getting kicked by depression. But, my "sob story" isn't really relevant. By the way, the song I used was Imaginary by Evanescence. I was going to choose Whisper by the same artist, but I thought of some of the lyrics as too dark not only for Sakura, but for me as well. But, enough about me, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and also remember to check out me and Hannah's collab story A Step Too Far!**


	10. Chapter 10

Sakura blinked tiredly to try to get herself awake. Once she could open her eyes fully, she let out a small yawn. She glanced next to her to see Seto sleeping beside her. She had almost forgotten that he stayed with her the previous night. Her eyes slowly moved to his arm; it was lying around her waist. Her cheeks began to turn pink as she tried to look for a way to get up without disturbing him. She realized it was nearly impossible.

It was against her best interest, but she concluded that it would be better just to wake him purposely. Her gaze looked back to his sleeping form. His features were much more relaxed than they were in his waking hours. He didn't wear a definite frown either. _Should I really wake him? He looks so peaceful._ Sakura reached her arm over and tapped his shoulder a couple of times. "Seto," she said calmly.

"I trust you have a reason for this." He said. He opened his eyes and began to stare at her.

Sakura's face flushed. She now wished she hadn't woken him. "I-I need you to move your arm."

"Why?"

Her cheeks began turning pink again. "I-it's around my waist."

"I don't see how that's my problem."

"Well, it'd be easier for me to get up if you moved it."

"Hm, that's true. However, it would also be easier if you weren't laying on it too."

Sakura looked down to his arm again. Her back was on his upper arm. She quickly shifted herself so that he'd be able to move it. "Sorry."

Seto grunted as he sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

Sakura sat up as well and looked to the clock next to her. It was past eight thirty. She stretched and went to stand up. "It's probably a good time to get up. I'm going to take a shower."

She gave him a peck on the lips before heading for the bathroom. Before closing the door, she noticed Seto heading out of the room. After showering and finishing her daily necessities, she walked out of her room and went downstairs. She found Mokuba patiently sitting at the table. "Good morning, Mokuba." She greeted.

The ebony-haired teen looked up. "Morning, Sakura!"

"You look like you're waiting for something."

"Yeah. Our cook called in sick this morning, so I don't know what to do for breakfast."

"I could make you something."

A bright grin appeared on the teen's face. "Really?"

"Of course. Is pancakes alright with you?"

"Absolutely!"

Sakura smiled and strolled over to the counter. She began making and mixing the batter until it was suitable to put into the pan. Once some of them were done, she put them on a plate and gave them to Mokuba. She glanced up to see Seto walk into the kitchen. "Do you want any pancakes, Seto?" she asked.

He quickly looked to her as he was pouring his coffee. "Since when were you capable of cooking?"

"I would help my mom cook when I was little."

"You should try these, Seto." Mokuba said before taking another fluffy and syrup-filled bite. "They're great!"

The brunet shrugged. "Whatever."

Sakura turned back to the pan in front of her. She poured in another cup of batter and waited for it to be firm enough to flip. Upon flipping a couple of them, she frowned. Parts of them were burned. Although she didn't want to feed them to him, she would probably be forced to seeing that she was running out of batter. _I hope he doesn't notice._ She served the pancakes onto a plate and handed it to him. His eyes carefully looked at the stack and didn't bother to set them down on the table. Sakura nervously watched him.

Seto's gaze went back to her. "These are burnt." He simply stated.

Sakura swallowed nervously. "Why do you say that?"

"They smell like charcoal." He then reached for one of the pancakes and flipped it over to reveal the burnt parts. "And that."

She sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm not used to your stove. I just got lucky with the batch for Mokuba."

"It's a stove; they're not that difficult to figure out."

"I know."

Seto put down the plate and folded his arms. "If this is how you really cook, then I'm surprised that your house hasn't burned down by now."

"Hey!"

"Even Mokuba or I would have less a chance of burning them."

"Oh, is that so?" Sakura grabbed the bowl of batter from the counter and thrust it into his arms. "Then you can make your own breakfast."

"I don't cook."

"Oh well. You're the one who said you could make it better."

Seto glanced to his brother who was watching the duo with great interest. "This is idiotic."

"Well," Mokuba said. "You did say you could make it better. You'll have to live up to your word."

"What?" Seto hissed back.

"Just do it. Think of it as a new challenge or something, Nii-sama."

"I'm not doing this."

"You're the one who said you don't back down from challenges." Sakura chimed in.

Seto growled. "Whatever." He muttered as he stood up and made his way to the stove.

Sakura smiled. She was glad that they convinced him to actually cook, albeit how visibly unhappy he looked. She was excited to see how well he'd do. After a few moments, she went over to him and went to peer over his shoulder. "How're you doing?" she asked.

"Fine. Now, do you mind? Or is watching people normal for you?"

"No, it isn't."

"Good. Now, I'd like to finish this so I can prove I'm superior."

Sakura rolled her eyes in amusement and sat down at the table. She and Mokuba carried on a conversation to distract from the silence around the kitchen. The duo soon looked up when they heard the brunet turn off the stove. He turned around and roughly set a plate down on the table in front of them. Mokuba eyed the pancakes and then grinned. "These look great, Nii-sama!" he said.

"Of course, I don't do inadequate."

Sakura and Mokuba each grabbed a pancake and tried a piece. Sakura looked up at the brunet. "They taste very good. Maybe you should just cook your own meals."

"I don't have the time."

Sakura stood up and gave him a peck on the lips. "That's too bad, you're good at it."

"You shouldn't be surprised by that."

She smiled and began finishing her breakfast. Seto headed out of the room. Mokuba and her soon stood up from the table. The duo walked out of the kitchen and into the main hall. "So, what do you want to do today?" Mokuba asked.

"I'm not sure." She said. "Maybe Seto can do something with us."

As soon as she had finished speaking, the two noticed the brunet himself coming down the stairs with his silver briefcase in hand. He did not look pleased.

"What's wrong?" Sakura questioned.

"There's an emergency at Kaiba Corp. apparently. Some moron screwed up one of the programs."

"Oh, alright. When will you be back?"

"I don't know. It'll take hours to fix this."

"Okay, we'll see you then."

Seto nodded and headed out of the mansion. Mokuba looked up at Sakura. "I'm going to the game room, you wanna come too?"

"Sure."

 **X.X.X**

Later in the afternoon, Seto sat in his office typing away at his computer. He sipped from his coffee mug and then proceeded to type. He was making decent progress in trying to fix his employee's mistake. _How do you misprint this much coding? Why do I even hire these morons?_ The brunet paused in his typing when he heard a loud noise coming from downstairs. It was unusual, but not unheard of. _Somebody probably screwed something else up._ He proceeded with his work until the power in the building suddenly flickered. _The hell..?_ Seto looked back to his computer to see a notification in the corner of the screen; **Security System Disarmed**.

 _Disarmed? What the hell have those idiots done now?_ Seto went to stand up from his desk until he heard a loud noise outside the door. It was followed by a loud shriek. The door then quickly swung open to reveal four men, all of which carrying weapons. Seto's hard stare looked between them as his hand slowly went to one of his desk drawers. He had to get to his own handgun. Another man soon entered the room. Seto was able to instantly recognize him. Before he could say anything though, the man brought out a weapon and pointed it in Seto's direction. Something then shot out at him and connected with his chest and then released a popping sound. The brunet felt his entire body tense as he fell to the ground when the electricity began to subside in his veins.

The brunet weakly looked up to Hirotani and his men. "Tie him to his chair." Hirotani demanded.

The four other men obeyed and picked up the CEO and set him down on his desk chair before proceeding to bind him to it. Seto growled once he realized his vocal chords were recovering from being tasered. "So you're the pig that disarmed the security system." He spat.

Hirotani nodded. "It wasn't very hard. Some of my guys here know their tech. All we had to do was knock out someone as simple as a janitor, take his place, and then we're in. We've taken out your alarms, cameras, and all the other useless equipment you have here."

Seto continued to growl.

"Oh, and by the way, you're going to need a new secretary. She went out like a light when that bullet hit her. She was such a squealer too." The man scratched his head. "You won't have to worry about your other employees either, we rounded them up and they're cowering in fear in the lobby."

Seto glared at the man in front of him.

Hirotani ruffled his hair as he glanced in thought for a moment. His turquoise-colored hair wasn't in a shaven ponytail like it was during his first attack on Sakura. Instead, it was longer and covered his whole head. The vibrant-haired male grinned and looked back to the brunet. "Hey, somebody get me his cell phone."

One of the men obeyed and took the phone from Seto's pocket and tossed it to Hirotani. "What are you doing?" Seto asked.

"I'm giving your girlfriend a call. My original plan was to have her here with you at this moment, but this is even better. Man, I can't wait to hear that terrified reaction of hers." He continued to scroll through the phone until he stopped and looked up again. "Somebody gag him, I don't want him making noise during this call."

The men held Seto's head in place as they placed a piece of duck tape over the CEO's mouth, although the young brunet struggled against them. Hirotani dialed Sakura's number and put the phone to his ear. He impatiently waited for her to pick up as it resumed ringing. On the third ring, there was a click.

"Hello?" Sakura's voice came through the phone.

Hirotani smirked. He couldn't wait to terrify her.

 **x.x**

 **Here we are at hostage situation! I'm glad I finally got this thing done because I've been sick the past few days. But, I felt better yesterday and today. And I fixed the bad parts that I did earlier in the week too. Anyways, I don't know why, but I just really wanted that secretary to die, it almost seemed funny because I'm a sadist. But Sakura's in for a surprise. Woo! Fun times! Um, I think I wanted to say something else, but my head isn't transmitting it, so I guess that's it… Aside from ending on this awkward note, let me know what you guys think and I'll talk to you next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! So, as you know, I don't usually do these starting author's notes so… yeah. I'm just going to give everyone a warning right now that there is a suicide in this chapter, who it concerns is for you to figure out. I just want you guys to know in case this is triggering to any of you. So, here's your warning. I'll also display a warning that a part of the chapter is quite sadistic and dark, I suppose. Other than that, enjoy.**

 **x.x**

Sakura sat quietly watching Mokuba play video games in the game room. After playing with him for a while, she decided that she'd take some time just watching. She let out a sigh as she repositioned herself on the couch. Her attention was then brought to a loud ringing around her. Mokuba noticed the sound also and paused his game before looking at her. "Isn't that your phone?" he asked.

"Oh, right." Sakura looked around before grabbing her phone from the table beside her. She glanced at the Caller ID and her brows furrowed in confusion at it.

"What is it?" Mokuba questioned.

"Seto's calling. It's not like him to call while he's working."

"Answer it. Maybe he needs something."

Sakura nodded and took the call. "Hello?" she spoke. There was no response on the other line. "Seto? Can you hear me?"

"Yes."

Sakura immediately froze. She knew that this person was definitely not Seto, but she had a familiar idea of who. A chill ran up her spine as her fear began to take over her thoughts. _N-no. H-he can't have Seto's phone. This can't be real._ Her body began to violently tremble as her breathing turned rapid. The person on the other line laughed at her sudden panic. Mokuba looked up again to see Sakura's look of terror and stood up from the floor.

"Sakura?" he asked. She didn't respond. She almost seemed to be in a trance. "Sakura, what's wrong?" The young teen and grasped her shoulders and shook her. "Sakura!"

She let out a light scream as she came back to reality. Her eyes darted around the room looking for any sense of danger. In the current room, there was none. Her eyes then went back to her phone, which was now lying on the floor. She picked it up only to still hear laughter on the other end. The man calmed himself before speaking again. "Ah, I never get tired of a good victim's scream." He said.

Sakura tried to control her breathing. "W-where's Seto?"

"Oh, he's here with me. He doesn't look pleased though."

"Please, Hirotani, don't hurt him! He has nothing to-"

"Shut up. I normally don't do invitations, but I want you at the Kaiba Corporation building. We'll settle things there. If you bring the police, I shoot the brunet. And don't keep me waiting."

"Wait, I-!"

She didn't get the chance to finish before she noticed that he hung up on her. Sakura tossed her phone to the side and buried her face in her hands. She was trying to hold back tears.

 **X.X.X**

Hirotani set the phone down on the desk and smirked. "She'll be along any time now." He said. "This will be fun, won't it, Kaiba?" Seto growled as he continued to struggle against his bindings. There was still duck tape covering his mouth. Hirotani frowned and ripped the tape from his mouth. He hated talking to blank slates.

"You better not lay a hand on her, you snake!" Seto spat.

"Oh, what's the joy in that? I love savoring a good moment of torture."

"Go screw yourself."

"You are a sassy one, aren't you? Besides, that girl is such a coward; it'll be easy to take her down."

"Shut up!"

Hirotani smirked. "No."

Seto growled towards the man. "What are you even trying to accomplish with this? Is this just some childish fantasy of yours to command a hostage situation?"

"No, actually. I'm just here to ruin the people who ruined me. If that girl didn't just die like she was supposed to, then I would've been caught. So of course, you had to be the one to get me arrested."

"Well, it was your foolish decision to go on a shooting rampage."

"Shut up!" Hirotani glared at the young brunet before smirking again. "Anyways, once I kill the girl finally, I'll enjoy blowing up this building. But don't worry, once you see her die, you and your company will be blown to bits."

"You're insane!"

"Even if I am, I don't care." The vibrant-haired male then reached into his pocket and dug out a white cloth. "Somebody hold his head." The two other men in the room then grabbed the brunet's face. They held his mouth open wide enough for Hirotani to stuff the cloth into his mouth. Before the young CEO could spit it out, his mouth was already recovered in duck tape. Hirotani turned back towards the two men by him. "You head down to the lobby. I'll take care of this."

 **X.X.X**

"Sakura?" Mokuba looked at her. "What's happened to my brother?"

She didn't look up at him to speak. "H-Hirotani has Seto."

"What? Why? What else did he say?"

"He wants me at the Kaiba Corp. building."

"He's being held hostage? We've got to go call the police!"

The young teen went to rush to grab the phone, but Sakura quickly grasped his arm to stop him. "No! You can't! They'll kill him if the police show up."

"Then we've got to go there ourselves."

"I-I can't!" Sakura sobbed. "I can't face him again!"

Mokuba remained silent. He didn't want to force her, even if their situation was desperate.

"I'm sorry, Mokuba. I am. But, I just don't think I'll be able to!"

"I know. What will happen if you don't show up?"

Her shaking hands went to wipe her eyes. "I don't want to think about it."

"Then I'll go." Sakura immediately looked up at him. "I can't just let Seto die. We're a team!"

"N-no! You can't go!" Tears continued to flow from her eyes as her thoughts shifted to what might happen. She hated and feared the thought of having to go herself, but there seemed to be no other way. Seto was in danger and there was no other way he could be saved. She couldn't let someone else take the blame for what she had indirectly caused. "I'll go."

"But, Sakura, you said-"

"I know. But I can't stand the thought of…" she couldn't finish her sentence. It was too painful to think about. She slowly stood up, although her legs were shaking nervously. She felt like she couldn't keep he balance.

"What if something happens to you or him though?"

"If you really get that concerned then… call the police."

"But, I'm not going to just sit here! You can't go alone!"

"I don't want you to get hurt. Just stay here, please."

"But, I-!"

Sakura then pulled him in for a tight hug. "Please."

Mokuba pouted at her. He merely nodded as he looked down to the carpet. Sakura soon stepped away from him and rushed downstairs. She put on her shoes and left the mansion. From there, she ran as fast as she possibly could. There was no time to call the limo driver around or to try and find a car to drive herself. Even though she was severely afraid, that's what made her keep running. _Please, let Seto be alright! It can't be too late!_ Her eyes threatened to produce more tears when she thought about it. Through the sidewalks, she ended up shoving past quite a few people, but she didn't have the time to apologize. Once finally making it downtown and in front of the Kaiba Corp. building, she began to slow down. She didn't want to risk barging in there and risk anything reckless. She came to the tinted glass doors and slowly opened one of them.

As soon as she stepped inside, she noticed nearly ten men standing around the lobby. They quickly noticed her and pointed the guns in their hands towards her. Sakura nervously took a couple of steps back with her eyes darting between each of the men. One of them soon held up his hand to the rest of them. "Wait. That's the girl." He spoke.

All of the guns trained on her suddenly dropped. "He's upstairs in the office." One of the men yelled to her.

Sakura slowly nodded as she walked past them. She couldn't help but notice all of them watching and smirking at her. From the mere ten men they had in the lobby, she could still tell they had the place tightly secured. It would be difficult to overwhelm them. She quietly, but quickly made her way to the elevator and waited for it to reach the ground floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw all the employees sitting around each other, cowering in fear. Most of the employees were watching her and even at a distance, Sakura could still see a cry for help in their eyes. The elevator finally dinged and Sakura stepped inside. She pushed the button for the floor that the CEO's office was at and waited.

 _This is the worst few seconds of my life,_ she thought. There was a pit of anxiety settled in her stomach. Before long, the elevator doors opened and the brunette walked to the office. She cautiously looked around as she walked. The lights were slightly dimmed, giving the area a haunted aura. Sakura then looked over and noticed the secretary's desk. The woman was hunched over onto it like she hadn't slept in days. Sakura rushed over to the woman, but stopped once she got closer. The woman's eyes were wide open and unmoving. There was blood coming from a wound to her head. The brunette suddenly put a hand to her mouth as she backed away until she hit another desk.

 _I'm going to be sick. I can't. I can't go on._ She slowly began to slide down to the floor with her breathing rapid. _I'm sorry. I just can't. I don't want to see more of this._ The thought of seeing Seto dead then flashed in her mind. She had no other choice. She had to get to him if she wanted to stop seeing the hell around her. Sakura slowly began to calm down and stood up again. She continued to make her way to the brunet's office until she stood before the doorway. She inhaled deeply and slowly opened it. The room was dark and nearly looked deserted. She then noticed Seto bound tightly to a chair with duck tape over his mouth. He was shaking his head and struggled against the ropes furiously.

"Seto!" she yelled.

Sakura ran forward to him, but suddenly stopped when she felt something collide with the back of her head. Her mind increasingly grew dizzy as she collapsed to the ground. After attempting to gather her surroundings again, she glanced up to see Hirotani smirking at her. She could tell from the taser in his grasp that she was hit with the end of it. He pocketed the item before glancing to the glaring CEO and then back to Sakura.

"Hm, what would be the best way to end this scenario?" he pondered. "Killing you now would be good, but I think there's a better way." He began to stride over to the other side of the office. "A mix of emotional and physical torture will be good to start things off."

Hirotani turned towards the brunet and swung a hard punch to his face. Seto released a groan through the cloth in his mouth as he proceeded to glare at the man in front of him. The vibrant-haired male continued to punch and kick at different parts of his victim's body. Seto endured each hit, but could still feel his form beginning to bruise. A hard punch was then hurled into his gut, causing him to gag and cough into the cloth. The brunet felt his consciousness start to slip, but he held himself together to stay awake. He glanced up once he had realized he was no longer being punched or kicked. Instead, he saw Hirotani with a maniacal grin at his lips and a knife in his grasp.

Seto winced when he felt the sharp blade cut across his arms and chest, tearing his clothing along with it. Most others would not be able to tolerate such pain, but Seto was used to it from his years of living with his stepfather and the abuse brought with it. Just like back then, he had someone he needed to protect. The best he could do was withstand it like he did before.

Seto suddenly opened his eyes when he realized that the knife was no longer cutting him, but rather something else. His gaze traveled to the ropes binding him, which was currently being sawed off by the knife. _What is that moron doing?_ Once the ropes were nearly completely sawed off, Hirotani looked back to the brunet. He smirked at him before ripping the duck tape from his mouth, causing Seto to spit out the cloth. "What? Did you just realize that your feeble plan will no longer work, so you're just letting us escape?" Seto glared to him. "It's about time you got knocked into your senses."

The brunet was then grabbed by his collar and thrown to the ground. Unfortunately for him, his hands were still bound together, so he still couldn't defend himself. "Ah, this is much better." Hirotani said. "Now I can hit every angle of your body." He proceeded to harshly kick the brunet in the side. "Now, come on, I want to hear you scream."

"Never." Seto hissed. Hirotani growled as he continued to kick at him, followed by grabbing his knife again.

Sakura blinked rapidly as she returned to reality. She had heard talking and grunts, but was not fully aware of the things around her. She glanced around the room as she started to pick herself up before her gaze stopped. She watched Hirotani pick Seto up by the hair and punch his cheek. She let out a loud scream at the sight. Her chest began to constrict and felt as though she couldn't breathe. She could barely move from her current position as the trembling set in. She couldn't tell if her current agony was from her overwhelming fear or if somebody was inflicting it. Either way, it felt like she would collapse again.

Hirotani watched her carefully. He gave a light chuckle towards her sudden panic. He glanced back towards the brunet by his feet to see that he seemed immobilized. He saw this as a perfect opportunity to land in some torment to her. He walked away from the young CEO and approached the panicked brunette on the other end of the office. She didn't even seem to notice that he was heading towards her; she was just staring off into space somewhere. Hirotani looked down at the girl and smirked. He lifted his foot and kicked her roughly in the side. She yelped as she hunched over again.

"Hmph, you're so pitiful." He said. "I still don't understand why you survived back then when you're this weak."

The vibrant-haired male pocketed his knife again. He wanted to wait to resume using it. Instead, he pulled out his taser again. He pointed it firmly to her unmoving form. He smirked as the wire popped out of the weapon and connected with her back. Sakura shook aggressively as the electricity surged through her body. She then fell to the ground in a paralyzed heap. Her entire body felt numb, except for a burning sensation within the skin on her back. Hirotani laughed at her feeble form as he circled her.

Seto looked up and blinked through his fuzzy vision. He realized that he was no longer being attacked, but Sakura was. He pulled at the ropes that bound his wrists together until his skin was raw and nearly bleeding. He needed something sharp to cut himself loose. He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, although he felt that his head was swimming. He moved his body closer to his desk and reached for one of the drawers on it. His fingers grasped the handle and quickly pulled the drawer open. His hands swiftly searched through the drawer in an attempt to find something he could use. He stopped when he felt something pointed touch his fingertip. He recognized it as his letter opener just by its touch.

The brunet quickly removed it from the drawer and sawed at the ropes that bound him. He growled feeling that it was too time consuming. He peered around the desk to see Hirotani gave another kick to Sakura's side. _That bastard,_ he thought. His eyes widened as soon as the ropes fell from his wrists to the floor. He picked himself up, but felt his balance try to give way from under him. He yanked the handle to the top drawer to his desk and pulled out the loaded handgun he kept in there.

Hirotani noticed the noise the brunet was making and gazed towards the desk. His eyes widened when he noticed the handgun pointed straight at him. He instinctively went to point his taser gun towards the brunet, but by then, it was too late. A shot rang through the office followed by a loud yell of pain. Hirotani quickly collapsed to the ground with blood dripping from the wound on his left knee. Seto glared at the man with the handgun still tightly in his grip. _Hmph, that pathetic moron deserves so much more._

Sakura began to feel that her muscles weren't numb anymore, but still didn't have the strength to pick herself up. She watched Hirotani carefully out of the corner of her eye. He didn't seem capable of moving, but she thought that it would be best not to assume anything. The trio soon heard sirens off in the distance as they grew closer. It wasn't hard to tell that their destination was the Kaiba Corp. building. The corner of Sakura's mouth twitched into a smile. _Thank you, Mokuba,_ she thought.

"No." Hirotani hissed. He couldn't escape now. He could hardly move, nor would he have a chance of evading the police. He was finished. "No! If they want me, then they can have my corpse! I am _not_ going back to prison!"

The turquoise-haired male fumbled onto his side and gripped the seat of the couch beside him. Seto watched him closely and raised his gun again. Hirotani hastily got himself to his feet. He hissed in pain as the pressure of his body weight was applied to his leg, causing blood to drip down to the floor. He only had one shot at this. Albeit his pain and weakness, he ran forwards to the back of the office. Seto saw him charging and fired a few shots in his direction. He didn't have time to see if he had hit the man or not.

Suddenly, one of the window panels shattered open, leading shards of glass to scatter to the floor and to the pavement down below. The vibrant-haired male shielded his face from the glass before feeling gravity pull him down. His end was inevitable now. When Seto blinked, there was nothing but a broken window panel in that direction. He could hear screams of terrified civilians from the earth after a faint smacking sound. He let out a sigh upon seeing that it was over. The handgun dropped from his grip as he began to lose his balance. Only now did he notice how lightheaded and unsteady he was. The brunet fell beside his desk as he went into unconsciousness.

Sakura watched him as he lie there. She was still in shock over the scene she had just witnessed. She slowly went to stand up, but lightheadedness and pain overcame her. She weakly dragged herself to the unconscious CEO and lightly touched his arm. "Seto?" she questioned. Her vision began to turn spotted and before long all she saw was black.

 **x.x**

 **And I'm going to end it here. This may even be my longest chapter for this story so far, I'm not sure though. Hopefully this chapter was still good despite my sadism. Ah, character torturing is neat. Oh, and also, for whatever reason, I've been thinking about just dropping the titles I have for the chapters and end up just changing it to "Chapter –Blank-". I don't know, maybe its just a phase, but what do you guys think? Well, anyways, I hope that this action-y chapter was enjoyable and I'll talk to you all next time!**


	12. Chapter 12

The first thing Seto noticed was the scent of antiseptic. He let out a groan of partial annoyance and partial pain. He slowly opened his eyes to be met with a bright light above him. He shut his eyes again to avoid straining them against the light. He let out a low growl as he laid there. He didn't understand why his own medical staff couldn't take care of him instead of leaving him in a hospital. He hated the environment.

"Seto?" a voice asked from beside him.

The brunet turned his head and opened his sapphire eyes to see a young teenager at his bedside. "Mokuba?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Where's-?"

Mokuba raised his hand to stop him and turned to the green curtain behind him. He pushed it back to reveal Sakura lying on a hospital bed of her own. Seto's stare hardened when he saw that her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow. "It's alright, Seto." Mokuba said. "She's just resting. She first woke up a couple hours ago."

Seto sighed and let his head fall back onto his pillow. His eyes looked around him in disgust as he stared at the IV drip and heart monitor beside him. He could feel his younger brother's eyes looking him over carefully. Before he could look in that direction, there was already a pair of arms wrapped around him in a tight hug.

"I was so worried about you Seto." The ebony-haired teen said into his brother's chest. "If I hadn't called the police, who knows what could have happened to you!"

"I'm fine." The brunet responded.

Mokuba pulled away from his brother and sat back down in his chair. "You could have died though if I hadn't done anything!"

"It's not like I planned for this to happen."

"I know, but you have to be more cautious about this, Seto! You have to increase the security at Kaiba Corp. I know that it's already very high, but you've got to make it top notch. People always want you dead and you can't just wait for one of them to succeed!"

"I can take care of myself."

"Why do you always say that? We're a team, I can help you!"

"I'm not going to disregard your safety, Mokuba."

"But, you'll disregard yours?"

"Whatever."

"No, you're not ignoring this. I haven't seen you look this beaten up since Gozaburo!"

"So what? That's all in the past."

"It still happened though!"

Seto went to retort to his sibling, but stopped when he heard Sakura begin to stir. She rolled over and blinked a couple of times at the duo. "You're awake." She simply stated looking at the brunet. She glanced to the siblings and noticed the slight tension between them. "Is something wrong?"

"No, we were just talking." Mokuba said.

"Do you want to finish? Because I can go into the hallway."

"No, its fine."

Sakura nodded and slowly swung her legs over to the edge of the bed. She cautiously stood up and Seto noticed a slight wince from her. She strode over and sat down on the chair next to Mokuba. "How are you feeling?" she asked the brunet.

"I've been in better moods."

"You're right, sorry." There was a long pause in the room.

"You look unstable." Seto suddenly said.

"Oh, well when I got tasered, it ended up burning my back. It's only minor though."

Seto nodded.

Sakura sighed and looked at him carefully. She eyed over the visibly bruises on him with guilt and disgust. "I'm sorry for this. It's my fault that you were hurt. I should have done something albeit my panicking at the time. I'm so sorry."

"If you're sorry, then stop apologizing."

"You just didn't deserve to be tortured like that again what with…" Sakura stopped when she noticed Seto's stare harden at the mention of his stepfather. She shamefully looked to the ground. "I'm sorry."

"Don't waste my time with apologies. It's in the past."

Sakura slowly nodded. She reached to him and gently touched his hand. She felt his muscles suddenly tense before slowly relaxing again. "I'm just glad you're alright."

 **X.X.X**

The next afternoon, the trio still sat in the hospital room. Mokuba and Sakura sat on her hospital bed engaged in a game of checkers. The ebony-haired teen looked over his set of black checkers which were quickly cornering Sakura's red checkers. It soon dwindled to her only having one checker left. The young teen took his chance and jumped the last piece.

"Looks like I win this round." Mokuba grinned.

"Yep. Congratulations." Sakura said.

Mokuba's grin broadened.

Sakura looked over to Seto to see him with his arms folded in front of his chest and his hard stare glaring at the wall on the other side of the room. "Seto, don't you want to join us? You look like you're in a pretty bad mood."

"Obviously. And I don't need to engage in such childish games."

Sakura sighed. "Is this because of your computer?"

Seto grunted.

"Seto, I'm not going to let you work on your company right now." Mokuba said. "The doctors say you need to rest."

"I could care less about what they think."

"Well, I agree with them. I'm not going to get your laptop for you from the mansion."

Seto growled making sure it was audible enough for the duo to hear him.

The trio's attention was soon averted when the phone on the wall began to ring. Seto went to reach for it, but Mokuba grabbed it first. "Hello?" he said.

"This is Mister Kaiba's room, correct?" the woman on the other end asked.

"Yes."

"Alright, this is the front desk speaking. There's a Mister Mutou and friends here to see him."

"Oh, yeah, send them up."

"Okay, have a good day."

Mokuba hung up the phone and looked back to his sibling. Seto stared back to him. "What did they want?" he questioned.

"Yugi and the others are here to see you. I said they could come and visit."

"What?" Seto immediately hissed.

Sakura looked between the duo in confusion. "Who are they?" she asked.

"They're a herd of geeks that can't take a hint that I'm not their friend. I'm surprised that I avoided them for a few years until now."

"Nearly three years ago, Seto and I went to Egypt with them." Mokuba said. He noticed Sakura's look of puzzlement. "It's a long story, I'll tell you later."

Sakura nodded. "Why do you hate them though? If they're your friends-"

"They're _not_ my friends." Seto interrupted.

"Well, they care about you since they came to see you. I'd like to meet them."

Seto grunted. "Then do it some other time."

Sakura rolled her eyes and waited in anticipation for the group of people to arrive. After a matter of minutes, there was a knock at the door. Seto groaned in annoyance. A group of four people soon entered the room. The first person Sakura noticed was the short, tri-colored male in front. He looked young for his age, but still had a maturity to him. She then noticed the two other males behind him, who stood much taller. One had shagging blond hair, while the other had brown hair that stuck up in a point. There was a brunette standing behind them, but Sakura couldn't see her face very well.

"Hey Kaiba!" The tri-colored male said.

Seto glared to them and grunted.

"Come on, don't be such a sourpuss." The blond male said. "Ya really haven't changed at all, have ya?"

"Shut it, you amateur." Seto spat back.

The blond glared to him, but tried to keep his cool.

"So, what're you guys doing here?" Mokuba asked.

"We were watching the news a few days ago and we noticed that Kaiba Corp was being held hostage." The tri-colored male chimed in. "And we heard Kaiba was injured."

"Yep, so Yugi here called us up and suggested we visit him." The blond said. "I wasn't very happy about it, but we're here." He looked over to the other hospital bed in the room and caught sight of Sakura. "Who's the chick?"

"Oh, this is Sakura." Mokuba said. "She's Seto's girlfriend."

Seto shot a glare to his brother at the sudden title of affection.

"Man, who knew Kaiba would start settling down?" the spiked brunet said.

"Yeah, so Sakura," Mokuba said to her. "This is Yugi." He pointed to the shorter male. "Jounouchi," he looked to the blond male. "Honda," the spiked brunet waved. "And finally-"

"Wait, I know you." Sakura interrupted looking to the short-haired brunette. "I've met you before. You're Anzu."

"Oh my God! And you're Sakura!" Anzu said gleefully.

"Ya guys know each other?" Jounouchi asked.

"Oh, yeah, I met her in town one day a long time ago. At the time, she was having some 'boy trouble' so I helped her out."

Sakura smiled as her cheeks tinted pink. She stared awkwardly towards the floor. After a minute, she looked back up to the gang. "So, how do you know Seto?" she asked them.

"Yugi here always kicked his butt in dueling." Jounouchi smirked. Seto was glaring hard at the blond. "Even in Kaiba's own tournament, Rich Boy would get whooped."

"Hmph, says the loser who can't even beat me." Seto smirked.

"What'd you just say to me?" Jounouchi yelled.

"I didn't know you were deaf too."

"Oh, then how about we go right now, Money Bags! Come at me!"

"Hm, I'd have more of a challenge fighting a cat."

"That's it!" Jounouchi went to step closer to the brunet with his hand balled into a fist, however, Honda and Yugi held him back.

"Stop, Jounouchi!" Yugi cried. "You can't pick a fight here!"

Anzu smiled and strolled over to Sakura as she watched the boy's antics. "Do they always fight like this?" Sakura asked her.

"Yeah." Anzu nodded. "Kaiba and Jounouchi have hated each other since the moment they met. Although, Jounouchi's not very good at keeping up with Kaiba's wits, he's too impulsive."

"Oh."

The girls and Mokuba watched as the blond struggled against his pleading friends. Seto smirked at his struggles, clearly getting an ego boost. After much pleading and yelling, the blond finally calmed himself. He shot a glare to the brunet. "You should be glad you're already in a hospital, or I would've made sure you needed one."

"Hmph, I doubt that, seeing that your last attempt was highly unsuccessful."

"Want me to try again?" Jounouchi shouted waving his fist in the air.

"Calm down, Jounouchi!" Yugi pleaded pushing him back. The short male could sense the high tension in the room and he was beyond concerned about it. So, he figured starting a conversation would work. "So Kaiba, do you have any plans for a new Duel Disk?"

"If I did, why would I leak that information to you dorks?" Seto rolled his eyes.

"I was only asking."

Seto grunted.

Yugi then turned towards Sakura. "So, how long have you been dating him?"

"Almost two years." She responded.

"I don't understand how ya can put up with him." Jounouchi stated.

"It's not very hard."

"Well, it's good that Kaiba found someone like you." Anzu smiled.

Sakura couldn't help but blush. "Oh, Thank you."

The group suddenly looked up to see a nurse enter the room. She looked to the visitors standing around the room. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you all to leave. Mister Kaiba and Miss Takahashi need their rest."

 _Thank God,_ Seto thought. He wanted the group of friends out of his room by second one.

"Oh, alright." Yugi said. "We'll be going now. It was nice meeting you, Sakura."

"Same here." She smiled.

"See ya."

"Bye."

"We hope you feel better, Kaiba."

With their goodbyes said, the gang left the hospital room. A few seconds after the door shut, Sakura looked at the young CEO. "Why do you hate them so much?" she asked. "I think they're nice."

"Then we obviously have a difference in opinion." Seto stated.

"Seto just doesn't like them because they're always in his way." Mokuba said glancing up from his virtual console. "At least, that's what he's stated before."

"Well, that was in the past though." Sakura said.

"Can we please not discuss the dweeb patrol right now?" Seto hissed. "I'm getting a headache."

Sakura merely nodded.

Mokuba yawned as he closed the console in his hands. He set the device down on the table beside him and curled up on the couch. It was already dark outside. The group sat in silence in the darkening room as the moonlight began to seep in through the window. Seeing that Mokuba was asleep, Sakura turned towards Seto. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked him.

"I'm fine." He replied.

"You'd tell me if you felt abnormal, right?"

"Yes." It was an obvious lie. He didn't need to express his feelings.

"Oh, alright. I just wanted to make sure because of…" She slowly began to trail off.

"We don't need to discuss this."

"I just don't want anything like this to happen again."

"I can take care of myself."

"But you didn't this time!" Sakura quickly looked to the floor. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stand watching you get hurt like that."

"I'm not a child. I had everything under control."

"But, you still got injured."

"Whatever."

"Seto, I just don't want to see it get worse next time. I don't want to lose you."

Seto continued to stare at her. He didn't know it seemed that severe to her. Sakura soon felt a pair of firm hands on her shoulders. She went to look up to the brunet, but then realized she was grasped in a tight embrace. She was pulled closer to him until she was kneeling on his hospital bed next to him. Sakura soon wrapped her own arms around him and buried her face in the crook of his neck. "That won't happen. Have you forgotten who you're speaking to?"

Sakura let out a weak smile. "No."

"Then stop worrying about it."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Then stop apologizing."

Sakura smiled and looked up to stare at him. She slowly moved her hands up to his face to cup his cheeks. She brought her lips to his in a passionate, but sweet kiss. The brunet moved his hands to her small waist as Sakura smiled against his lips. The couple parted from each other feeling their rapid breath against each other's cheeks. Sakura smiled to him before lying down and nestling up to his thin, but strong form.

"What are you doing?" the brunet asked her.

"Cuddling." She said softly.

Seto sighed before allowing it. Sakura grasped his hand as she laid her cheek against his shoulder. The couple lay there together in silence simply enjoying being with one another.

 **x.x**

 **And there we go. I decided to just use the gang's Japanese names. I wanted to do English to make things easier, but then I realized I already called Tea Anzu in the previous story, so I just went with that. Also, the whole "Seto, you need to be more careful" thing was a bit repetitive in this chapter and that's the only thing I don't like about it, well, that and the ending. Although, I really don't want to change it, maybe just because I'm tired. Anyhow, tell me what you guys think and I'll talk to you next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

After a couple of days, the couple was finally released from the hospital. Despite what had just occurred, they settled back into the mansion and tried to get back to normalcy. Although, Seto had no problem getting back into his work. The sound of soft clicking filled his home office as his eyes scanned the computer screen carefully. He finished a long line of codes and sat back in his chair. He ran his slender fingers through his hair before glancing back to the screen in front of him.

"Seto!"

The young CEO quickly looked up from the screen to see his younger sibling burst into his office. "What's the matter, Mokuba?" The brunet asked.

"My video game console isn't working."

The brunet sighed. "Can't I fix it later?"

"No." The young teen pouted. "Besides, you should take a break."

"Fine." The young CEO stood from his chair and followed his sibling into the game room. "What's the matter with it?"

"I don't know. I just went to turn it on, but the screen remained blue."

"Hm."

Seto strolled over to the gaming system and began to investigate it. He pressed down on the power button, but nothing happened. He stood up again and peered behind the television. He looked around at the arrangement of cables until he spotted an imperfection. "One of the cables isn't plugged in." The brunet reached down and plugged the cord into the socket. Suddenly, the television screen lit up and the menu appeared.

"Oh." Mokuba said. He then let out a laugh. "I don't know how that happened. Thanks though."

Seto nodded. The sibling's attention was then averted when they heard a loud bang from down the hallway.

"What was that?" Mokuba asked.

"If I knew, then I would be answering your question."

The ebony-haired teen rolled his eyes before turning back to his gaming. Seto headed out of the room and went into the hallway to investigate where the sound had come from. It seemed like it came from near Sakura's room. He came to the closed doorway and knocked on it.

"Come in." Sakura's voice said.

The brunet entered the room and looked around. He noticed Sakura grabbing a pile of clothes and heading over to her bed. "What was that noise?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry about that." She said. "My suitcase just fell out of the closet."

Seto's gaze then traveled over to her bed. Her suitcase sat there with a few things already packed into it. "Why are you packing?"

Sakura looked back up to him. "Well, I only moved here because of my protection. And now that _he's_ gone, I thought it's time to move back home."

"I see it as more convenient for you to stay here."

Her eyes widened at him. "Oh, I don't know. I don't want to burden you, but I don't want my parents to worry over me either."

"That's why the custom of visiting is available."

Sakura smiled. "I guess you're right. It would be nice to stay here. But, I should probably talk to my parents about it. Can the limo drop me off there today?"

"I wouldn't expect you to walk."

"Okay." She strode over to him and lightly kissed his lips. "Thank you."

Seto nodded and grabbed his phone from his pocket. He sent a quick message to his driver and received a response nearly a minute later. "My driver will be around it a few minutes."

"Alright. I won't be too long."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek before grabbing her coat and exiting the room. She made her way down the stairs and put on her shoes. Upon seeing the limo pull up, she walked outside onto the pavement and stepped inside the vehicle. After the short drive, they finally arrived at her parent's home. Sakura got out of the car and strode up to the front door to ring the door bell. She only waited a matter of seconds before hearing someone unlock the door.

Jun opened the door and smiled to the light-haired girl. She stepped out onto the porch and hugged her daughter tightly. "Hi, Sweetie." She said.

"Hi, Mom."

Her mother separated from her and looked at her with a worried expression. "Are you doing alright?"

"I'm fine, Mom."

"I'm glad." Jun frowned before hugging Sakura once more. "I'm so sorry we couldn't be there at the hospital with you. You father just hasn't been feeling well lately so I've been taking care of him and doing extra shifts at work."

Sakura stared to her mother as they entered the home. "What's wrong with Dad?" she questioned.

"I'm not sure exactly. He's just been having some bad headaches lately. If he doesn't get better soon, then I might take him to the hospital."

"Oh. Is he here now?"

"Yes. He's just upstairs taking a nap."

Sakura sighed. "Okay. When he wakes up, I'd like to talk with the two of you."

Jun nodded. "Alright. I'll get you some tea."

Sakura nodded and sat down at the kitchen table. Her mother soon came back with two cups and placed one beside Sakura before sitting down herself. The two of them sat together at the table conversing with each other. "So, how's Kaiba doing?" Jun asked.

"He's doing fine. As soon as we got back to the mansion, he's been working on his company a lot though."

"Does he still spend time with you?"

"We haven't had the time lately because of what happened. But, we do when he gets the chance."

"That's good to know." Jun took a sip of her tea before looking back to her daughter. "Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"Since you've been living with Kaiba for a while, have you been _in bed_ with him at all?"

"Mom!" Sakura yelled. Her cheeks were turning bright red.

"What?"

Sakura buried her face in her hands. "We really don't need to discuss this."

"I'm asking you a serious question, dear."

Sakura sighed. "No, Mom, I haven't."

Jun smiled. "That's good. I'm just glad to hear you're being conservative."

Sakura nodded as her blush began to fade.

"What's the yelling about?" the two women looked up to see Ken enter the kitchen while trying to rub the fatigue from his face.

Sakura smiled to her father and stood from her chair to hug him gently. "Hi, Dad." She said. "Do you feel any better?"

Ken shrugged. "I suppose."

He went to the kitchen table and sat in one of the chairs with a sigh. Once the trio was situated, Sakura explained to them about her idea of continuing to live in the mansion with Seto. Her parents nodded as she processed the information and exchanged glances with each other. "I don't see a problem with it." Ken said.

"Me neither." Jun smiled. "I believe you're old enough."

"Really?" Sakura smiled. "Thank you!"

She hugged her parents tightly as they smiled to her. They were glad she was happy.

"Just remember to call and visit once in a while." Ken chuckled.

"Of course. Is it alright if I come back tomorrow to pack up the rest of my stuff?"

"Sure thing."

"We'll be here."

 **X.X.X**

"Is that the last one?" Sakura asked turning to the brunet.

"Yes." Seto replied as he set down another box onto the floor.

"Alright, thank you."

Seto nodded and looked around the room. "I assume you're not dumb enough to unpack all this stuff by yourself."

"Oh, well, I can do it myself actually."

"The time it would take you to unpack by yourself wouldn't be desirable."

Sakura smiled as she stood in front of him. "If you really want to help, then you can start with those." She pointed to the boxes stacked beside her bed.

The brunet rolled his eyes. "I didn't specifically say that you could use me for assistance."

"It seemed like it."

Seto shook his head and began to remove items from various boxes as Sakura was putting away spare clothing in the dresser. Seto opened another box and noticed that it and another were full of books. "You have a lot of books." He simply stated.

"Yeah. I've read most of them though. You can just place them on the book shelf."

"That would be the obvious place for them."

Sakura shook her head in amusement before proceeding to sort through her things. After nearly an hour, there were only a couple of boxes left to unpack. Sakura looked up at the brunet who was placing some old mementos in the closet. "Hey Seto?"

"Hm?"

"Can you store these boxes somewhere?" She let out a light giggle. "I'd rather not have them on my floor forever."

"Hmph, whatever."

The young CEO went around the room and stacked the empty boxes on top of each other before grabbing them and heading out of the room. Sakura looked through a small box and dug through some of the items. She pulled out a picture of her and her family when she was younger and smiled to it. She placed it on the end table beside her bed before looking through the box again. She looked up again when she heard her phone begin to ring from atop her bed. She reached over for the device and glanced to the Caller ID. Her mother was calling her. _Hm, maybe I forgot something._

"Hello?" she answered.

"Oh, S-Sakura..!"

She could immediately sense that something was the matter. Her mother sounded rather hysterical. "Mom, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"I-it's your f-father..!"

Sakura listened carefully for a moment before she felt like her heart had skipped a beat. _T-that can't be. I just saw him this morning._

Seto sighed as he walked back up the stairs. He reached Sakura's doorway and noticed that it seemed unusually quiet, despite the door being halfway open. There were no sounds of rustling through cardboard. The brunet entered the room to find Sakura sitting on her bed with her head hung low. There were tear marks down her cheeks as she clutched her cell phone in her hands. Seto slowly approached her. "What happened?" he asked.

Sakura looked up at him through teary eyes. She wiped some tears from her cheek and gasped before speaking. "M-my father's in the h-hospital." She sobbed. "H-he had a stroke."

 **x.x**

 **Mwahaha, sadism is fun. I actually planned on this happening for quite some time and I've been looking forward to it. Although, I feel this chapter wasn't really my best work, perhaps it's the slight uneventful stuff, or maybe it's just me. Who knows! Soo… school starts tomorrow… And you know what that means! Yup! It's going to bitch-slap my free time away! Woo… So yeah, chapters may or may not take longer to upload depending on homework, time, etc. The good news is that I'm taking drama! Go me! … Yeah, I don't think you guys care. So anyways, I'd like to hear what you guys think and I'll talk to you next time!**


	14. Chapter 14

_"Papa!" the young girl screamed. "Papa!"_

 _From within her family's garage stood her father. He looked up upon hearing the screams of the upset child. He ran out into the open and saw his daughter yelling and crying on the pavement. The young man approached her and kneeled beside the girl, looking concerned. "What's the matter, Sakura?" he asked._

 _The young girl sniffed and looked to her father's dark, brown eyes. "I-I fell off my bike." She sobbed clutching her knee._

 _Ken looked over the young girl for any signs of injury before slowly removing her small hands from her knee. Just below the kneecap was a large scrape that grew red from blood threatening to drip down her leg. "Come on, let's go inside the house and get this cleaned up."_

 _"It hurts, Papa."_

 _"Hey, I thought you were my tough little girl." He smiled as he lightly touched her cheek._

 _Sakura sniffed and blinked to her father. "But, it hurts." She whined again._

 _"I know. Will you be able to stand?"_

 _Sakura nervously nodded. With the help of her father, she was able to stand off of the pavement, although she seemed to wobble slightly. "Papa?" Sakura asked._

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Carry me?"_

 _Ken smiled. "Of course."_

 _The young brunette smiled as she was lifted into her father's comforting arms and carried into the house. Once inside, the duo entered the bathroom as Ken cleaned off the wound. Sakura hummed quietly as he tended to it. Ken opened the cabinet over the sink and tore open a band-aid to apply to the scrape. He secured the band-aid onto her skin and smiled to his daughter. "There. All better?"_

 _"All better." Sakura grinned._

 _"That's good. Now go on back outside and play, okay?"_

 _"Okay." Sakura stood up and hugged her father tightly. "Thank you, Papa."_

 **X.X.X**

The limousine drove along silently with nothing but the sound of tapping fingernails from the interior. Sakura watched as the scenery passed by them from the window. Multiple buildings and other vehicles caught her gaze. She tapped her fingers rapidly against the door handle as she used her other hand to wipe her eye once more. Her gaze traveled over to the young brunet beside her in the vehicle, whose arms were folded tightly in front of his chest. She turned back towards the window in deep thought. Her optimistic side told her things would turn out fine, but her logical side said otherwise. _Strokes are rarely seen as a great recovery,_ she recalled in thought. _People often lose some aspect of function. But, Dad is stronger than the average patient, right?_ She had doubts, but hope as well.

She watched as the limousine pulled into the hospital entrance and braked near the doorway to the ER. Sakura looked back to the young brunet beside her. "I can go in myself." She said. "You don't have to come."

Seto grunted. "Hmph, don't be ridiculous."

"Are you sure? Because-"

"I'm pretty sure you have more important things to worry about than a trivial argument like this."

Sakura sighed. "You're right."

The couple soon exited the vehicle and entered the hospital through the glass sliding doors. They approached the front desk as the receptionist greeted them kindly. "Hello, what can I do for you today?" she asked.

"We're here to see Ken Takahashi." Sakura replied, trying to keep her voice steady. She felt as though her stomach might be permanently knotted at this point.

"Alright, one moment please." The woman turned to her computer screen and typed the name into the database. "He's right down that hallway on the right. Room 158."

"Thank you."

Sakura sped down the hallway with Seto trailing her. She briefly but hastily scanned the room numbers as she rushed past them. She nearly slid off her footing when she spotted the room marked one-hundred and fifty-eight from her abrupt stop. She threw open the door as her eyes darted around the room carefully, but quickly.

The room was white and organized like every other typical hospital she had seen, but something about this one was different. There was a different vibe to it. Something felt ghostly, not just by aura, but the color seemed to reflect that feeling. Her gaze continued to look around until she saw a certain view in front of her. She took a step back to try and control her footing. She wanted to faint. Her eyes began to water until tears were now dripping down her face. All the optimism and hope she had previously had seemed to sink lower and lower within her until it was all but diminished.

She watched the two figures in front of her carefully. One was a woman, a familiar one, who was hunched over the bedside sobbing into the sheets. Next, she saw the person in lying on the bed. Again, this person was familiar. Their skin was pale, their hair seemed to have lost its gleam, and their eyes closed shut. The monitor beside them was already shut off. Everything seemed too surreal, but it was reality.

Tears began to overwhelm her as she lunged for the bedside. "No." she sobbed. "No, no, no!" _This isn't real. It can't be!_ "Dad! Wake up, Dad!" she grabbed her father's arm and started shaking it in a desperate attempt to wake him. "You have to wake up!" She soon realized that her efforts were turning out to be in vain. "Papa-!"

She laid her head down upon the bedside and continued to sob. _Wake up. Please, wake up. Please, please, please._ She peeked up from the sheets to see no changes. She paused from her sobbing when she felt something warm touch her shoulder. She soon recognized the feeling as a hand; Seto's hand. Sakura wiped away some of her tears, but only more seemed to fall in their place. She grasped her father's hand tightly within her own, but it felt different. His hand now was stoic, cold, and lacked any sign of life he had in the past.

Everyone was soon interrupted from their mourning when there was a knock at the door. A doctor and two nurses soon entered the room. Sakura and her mother watched slowly as the two nurses came towards Ken's body and placed a sheet over his face. They then proceeded to unhook the bed from the wall. "What are you doing?" Jun asked.

"We're taking him to the morgue, Misses Takahashi." The doctor said.

"You can't just take him away! He's my husband! Her father! You can take him when _we're_ ready."

"Ma'am, please calm down. We need to remove him to make room for more patients."

"We deserve to have him with us though!"

"The body will be returned to you once the death certificate is filled out and funeral arrangements are made."

"But-!"

"Mom." Sakura said through teary eyes. "It's okay. Let them take him."

Jun sighed and wiped tears from her cheeks. She strode over to her husband and lifted the sheet so she could view his face. She placed a brief kiss upon his forehead before stepping back and placing the sheet back where it was. Sakura gave her father one last squeeze on the hand before they wheeled away the bed. She took a few steps back until she was beside Seto, who was merely observing the situation from the sidelines. She sighed and leaned against his shoulder for support.

The doctor went to approach the doorway, but stopped. He turned back towards the trio still inside the room. "I'm sorry for your loss."

The trio merely stared to the man.

He then looked back up to them. "Do you have any information on how this happened?"

Sakura shook her head. She knew nothing. Jun, however, looked up towards the middle-aged doctor. "Yes, I do." She said. "He came home from work a few days ago and said he injured his head."

The doctor nodded. "Thank you, we'll take this into account once we run some final tests on him."

With that said, the doctor left, leaving Sakura, her mother, and Seto alone in the room. Jun suddenly began to dissolve into tears and collapsed in her chair once again. Sakura strode over to her as tears formed in her eyes once more. The two of them cried as she held each other close. They were the only ones left of their small family.

 **X.X.X**

 _"'Where in the world did you come from?' Aunt Em cried." Ken read from the text on the page in front of him. Sakura smiled to herself as she listened to her father read from the passage. "'From the Land of Oz.' said Dorothy gravely. 'And here is Toto, too. And oh, Aunt Em! I'm so glad to be at home again!'"_

 _Ken smiled to his five year-old daughter as he closed the book. "Did you like it?" he asked her._

 _"Yeah! I love it, Papa!"_

 _"I'm glad." He said ruffling her light hair._

 _The young girl giggled before grabbing the book from her father's hands. She slowly began to flip through the pages, looking at the occasional illustration. "The pictures are pretty." She stated._

 _"They are."_

 _Sakura glanced to one picture of a young girl. "This is Dorothy." She stated._

 _"Yes, she's a lot like you are."_

 _The girl's eyes lit up. "Really?"_

 _"Of course. You're a sweet little girl like her. Just make sure you don't go to Oz anytime soon." He said as he tickled her stomach._

 _The girl giggled. "I won't, Papa."_

 _"That's good to know. Who do you think is most like me?"_

 _Sakura thought for a moment, before turning the page to find another picture. "The Scarecrow!"_

 _"Oh, really?"_

 _"Yeah! He's really nice, but brave like you are, Papa!"_

 _Ken chuckled. "I suppose so." He set the book down on the end table beside the bed. "Time for bed, Sakura."_

 _"Okay." Sakura nestled down into the sheets as her father placed the warm and fuzzy blanket over her delicate skin. "Papa?"_

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Mama says you're leaving tomorrow. Why?"_

 _"Oh, Sakura, I'm just going on a short trip for work. There's nothing to worry about. I'll be back in a few days."_

 _"I'll miss you, Papa."_

 _"So will I." Ken reached down to hug his daughter and kissed her forehead. "I'll always be here in your dreams though."_

 _Sakura gave a light smile. "Okay! I love you, Papa."_

 _"I love you too, Sakura. Good night."_

 **X.X.X**

Sakura stared to herself in the mirror. The first thing she noticed was her fatigue. She hadn't slept in days, and whenever she tried, she was plagued with nightmares. She blinked multiple times and tried to force a smile to appear more presentable. It was a failed attempt. Her blank gaze then turned to the short black dress she was wearing. Her father always said he liked it on her. She let out a sigh and strode around the room. She sat down upon her bed and stared around the room. Her gaze stopped when she noticed the picture frame upon the end table beside her bed. She picked up the photo and looked to the people smiling back to her.

The ones pictured were a young couple and a little girl. The woman in the picture held the child in her arms, who was adorned in a cute, blue dress. The man had his arms around his family protectively, but lovingly. It was a time that seemed so far gone to her. They were happy then. It was before her traumas began. If only they had known that the man pictured would die so young. Sakura recalled the words of the doctor. An intracerebral hemorrhage. The stroke that had claimed her father's life because of his head trauma.

Sakura felt tears begin to well up in her eyes before shaking her head. She set the picture frame down with the photo placed face-down. She sighed and stood back up before exiting her bedroom. She went down the hallway and came to Seto's closed bedroom doorway and gave a knock to it.

"Come in." the brunet's stern voice answered.

Sakura entered his room to find the young CEO adjusting his tie in front of the mirror. She tried giving a smile to his dapper form, but her frown seemed to want to take over. "You look nice." She said.

"I appreciate the compliment." He replied still looking to the mirror.

Sakura approached him and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "You don't have to come. I'll be alright, really."

Seto grunted. "Your lie is obvious."

Sakura frowned and leaned into his back. A silence fell over the couple for a moment. "How did you deal with it?" she asked.

"What?"

"When your father, your real father, died in that accident. How did you get over it so easily?"

She felt the brunet's muscles tighten. He released himself from her embrace and walked to the other side of the room with his back to her. "I had better things to worry about." He said.

"You make it sound like you didn't care."

"I did. But, that doesn't mean anything now. It's in the past."

"I'm sorry if I-"

"Drop it."

A silence once again fell over the couple. Sakura looked to the carpet and sighed. Seto glanced to the watch resting on his wrist. "We should go."

Sakura nodded and followed him down the hallway. The couple made their way down the stairs and went to the front yard where the limousine was waiting for them. They entered the vehicle and drove off to their destination. It would take nearly a half an hour to reach the cemetery. As time passed, Sakura stared out the window and watched the dull and seemingly endless scenery go by. She released a sigh and laid her head back against the seat. She took a quick glance towards Seto who was sitting firmly in his seat looking directly in front of him. Her gaze went back to the window.

Before long, the limo pulled into the gates of the cemetery and made its way down the narrow road. The vehicle soon parked besides a tall, white building. Sakura stepped out of the limo and stared to the chapel on the other side of the pavement. The white paint was chipped in some parts and was much too simple to hold a memorial service. Although, it did fit the depressing mood of the cemetery. Her eyes then noticed the array of people chattering in front of the chapel. Based on their faces alone, she recognized the people as family friends, and the others must've been coworkers. Most of her relatives wouldn't be there; they had already passed.

Her eyes darted among the crowd in search of a more familiar face. Seto stood behind her with his usual blank stare. To no avail, she couldn't see the person she was looking for. However, a voice grabbed her attention. "Sakura."

She turned her head in search of the voice. Her mother let herself out of the crowd and approached her daughter before hugging her tightly. "Hi, Mom." Sakura replied.

Jun sighed as her arms embraced around the young adult. It was just comforting for her to see her once more, even though they had just seen each other a few days prior. The duo parted from their embrace and looked to each other. "How are you doing, Sweetie?" Jun asked.

Sakura sighed. "I should be asking you that."

Jun cupped her daughter's cheeks. "I'll be alright. Once I realize that this is reality and not just a dream, I'll be fine."

Sakura nodded.

Jun let out a weak smile. "It'll be alright though. Now, come on, the service will start soon."

She nodded as everyone conversing in the crowd began making their way to the base of the cemetery. The large group trudged through the grass, which was still partially wet from the morning dew, as they dodged other headstones in their path. Everyone soon came to a significantly large hole in the ground with piles of dirt behind it. A casket lied a few feet away from the hole with a man standing beside it. He was assumed to be the pastor conducting the service. Everyone gathered around in circular rows as the service was conducted.

The pastor welcomed everyone kindly before thanking them for their presence. He proceeded on with multiple prayers as he wished for Ken to have a safe spiritual journey. He added in a couple words on his behalf, but it was nothing that anyone wouldn't have expected to hear. They were typical words for such an event. Once the pastor completed his sermon, he looked back towards the group of people in front of him. "Thank you." He concluded. "Misses Takahashi, I believe you wanted to say a few words."

Jun nodded and stepped forward while the pastor took a few steps back. She gave a sigh as she looked up. "I'm sure Ken would be happy to see all of you here today. I had some words planned out for this, but I can't recall them now. All I can say is that Ken was a wonderful person from the moment I met him. I'll never forget how supportive and understanding he was, and I want to thank him. Unfortunately, I'll have to wait many years to meet with him again. But, I'll still have those memories. I still remember the day we met," She let out a light chuckle. "I accidentally rear-ended his car. I suppose I'm lucky that he was so forgiving. And then somehow a year later, we were married and had our daughter. I couldn't imagine a more perfect father than he was. He always made sure Sakura was well-cared for and he couldn't resist seeing her whenever he could. I'm sure he's even watching us now, but even though he knows he's not with us, I doubt he's lonely. He always had a way of communicating easily with others. Although, I just wish his passing didn't come so soon." She took a moment to wipe her eye. "Even for just one last moment, I'd like to have spoken with him. I won't ever forget that day, October 5th, when my husband was taken from me and everyone else he knew. I'll never truly be content with any of it. But, maybe, just maybe, I'll find some sort of joy in the hope of seeing him again in the next world. Perhaps we all will, and I'm certain he'll be more than glad to see us."

Everyone bowed their heads at her words as a few nodded in agreement. Jun lowered her head and walked back to stand beside Sakura. The pastor nodded to himself before looking back to the crowd in front of him. "Sakura, is it?" he asked. She nodded. "Please, come up. You said you had your own way to honor your father, correct?"

She nodded once more and stepped over beside the casket. She took a quick glance towards it before looking away a second later. She straightened herself before taking a deep breath. It felt foreign for her not to have a piano in front of her at the moment, but she'd have to make do without it. She had already gone through the chords and lyrics multiple times, so she felt more comfortable. She slowly began to hum to give her a guideline before her voice followed.

"Na na, na na na, na na.

I miss you, miss you so bad.

I don't forget you, oh it's so sad.

I hope you can hear me,

I remember it clearly.

The day you slipped away

Was the day I found it won't be the same.

Oh…

Na na, na na na, na na.

I didn't get around to kiss you

Goodbye on the hand.

I wish that I could see you again,

I know that I can't.

Oh…

I hope you can hear me

'Cause I remember it clearly.

The day you slipped away

Was the day I found it won't be the same.

Oh…

I've had my wake-up.

Won't you wake up?

I keep asking why.

And I can't take it,

It wasn't fake-it,

It happened, you passed by.

Now you're gone, now you're gone.

There you go, there you go.

Somewhere I can't bring you back.

Now you're gone, now you're gone.

There you go, there you go.

Somewhere you're not coming back.

The day you slipped away

Was the day I found it won't be the same, no…

The day you slipped away

Was the day I found it won't be the same, oh…

Na na, na na na, na na.

I miss you."

Sakura lowered her head in silence. She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye before stepping away from the casket. Her mother reached out to her and dragged her into a hug. The duo, along with everyone else, sadly watched as the casket was lowered into the grave. Dirt was shoveled on top of the hole until it began to obscure the view of the coffin. Sakura and her mother held each other as they cried watching the scene play out.

 **X.X.X**

The sky shone orange as evening set in. Everyone had already left the cemetery long ago, with the only one left being Sakura. She slowly made her way across the grass until she reached the grave site. The tombstone was newly placed with patches of grass around it attempting to cover the dirt. There was a bouquet of white lilies placed in front of the head stone. Sakura let out a sigh before sitting herself down on the cool grass. She straightened out her dress before reading over the writing on the grave multiple times. It read: _Ken Takahashi, March 12th, 1964- October 5th, 2012. If there is another world, he lives in bliss; If not another, he made the most of this._

Sakura smiled to the words. Every syllable of it seemed true. She let out a sigh soon after. "Hi, Dad." She said softly. "I hope you like how the service went. Mom and I worked hard to try and make it the way you would've wanted it. I wish I could talk to you in person. I miss you." She felt herself starting to choke up and tears wanting to spill over. "I hope you know that."

She used the heel of her palm to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"I should go. Seto's waiting for me and I don't want to be too long. Next time, I'll bring Mom with me. I'm sure you'd like that." She stood up and fixed the wrinkles in her skirt. "Goodbye, Dad. I love you."

Sakura turned on her heels to head back to the chapel where the limo was waiting. Once the vehicle came in sight, she noticed Seto leaning against the doorway. He looked up as soon as he heard her approach. She stood next to him and looked into his stern, blue eyes.

"Can we go home now?" she asked.

He nodded before stepping inside the vehicle.

 **x.x**

 **And there we go. This long, depressing chapter is over. The song I used was Slipped Away by Avril Lavinge and its _beautiful,_ but real sad. I didn't expect to get this chapter up today, but I'm glad I did. This weekend was literally the only time I've had to write this week. Due to this, and the length of the chapter, I forgot for a second what else I wrote for this chapter besides the funeral. And I'm still not a doctor, so that's my excuse if my stroke info somehow isn't accurate. I think I had something else to say, but I forgot what it was... Anyhoo! I'd appreciate some feedback and I'll talk to ya'll next time!**


	15. Chapter 15

A loud buzzing rang through the formerly silent room. The numbers upon the clock were stared at by a pair of fatigued, but gentle eyes. A hand reached over and snoozed the alarm. Sakura sighed and sat up as the room returned to silence. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the dim room. After observing her surroundings, Sakura stood from her bed and pulled open the curtains. Sunlight flooded the room as she squinted from the brightness.

After showering and getting ready, she headed downstairs into the kitchen where Mokuba and Seto sat at the table eating breakfast. "Morning Sakura!" the ebony-haired teen said happily.

"Morning, Mokuba." She replied.

Seto glanced up to her as he sipped from his coffee. "You're mother is coming here today, correct?" he asked her.

Sakura glanced up to him. "Yeah. She's just going to come here and pick me up."

He merely nodded.

Mokuba ate another bite of his pancakes. "If you don't mind my asking, where are you gonna go?"

Sakura sat down at the table with a bowl of cereal. "To the cemetery. We wanted to visit _him_ today."

The ebony-haired teen nodded as an awkward silence fell over the trio. After a few minutes, Seto stood from the table. He set his coffee mug on the counter and turned towards his sibling and girlfriend. "I'm going into the office for a while. I'll be back in a few hours." He said.

"Okay." Sakura said. "I'll walk out with you. My mom will be here soon anyhow."

Seto nodded. "I'll be waiting outside."

With that said, the brunet left the room. Sakura stood and placed her bowl in the sink before turning towards Mokuba. "You'll be okay alone for a while?" she questioned him.

"Yeah." Mokuba grinned. "We can always hang out when you get back."

"Sure. I'll see you then, Mokuba."

"Bye."

Sakura walked over to the front door and stepped outside into the crisp autumn air. Seto stood on the front porch waiting for her. Despite having a jacket on, the light-haired brunette was still chilled by the wind. She stepped closer to the young CEO and grabbed his arm. Seto looked to her. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm cold." She replied.

Seto rolled his eyes. "I don't see how that's my problem."

"You're warm though."

"Hmph, whatever."

Sakura slowly smiled into the fabric of his jacket. Her gaze soon traveled over to the front gate where her mother's car had just pulled in. The car pulled around front as Sakura turned to the brunet. "Well, there's my mom. I'll see you when I get back."

Seto nodded.

Sakura gave him a sweet kiss on the lips before departing from the porch. She stepped beside the vehicle and gave him a short wave before getting into the car. She gave a comforting smile to her mother. "Hi, Sweetie." Jun greeted.

"Hi, Mom." She replied. The duo soon began to drive off while the car remained silent. Sakura glanced to the back seat to see a bouquet of flowers resting on the seat. "What kind of flowers are those?"

Jun glanced to Sakura. "They're called camellias. They signify devotion."

"I like them."

"I thought you would."

Sakura looked back to the dashboard and gave a low sigh. "So, how've you been?"

"Oh, I'm alright."

"Are you sure? You're not lonely?"

Jun shrugged. "I suppose not."

The brunette slowly nodded. After a few seconds, she spoke again. "What do you plan on doing with Dad's stuff?"

"I'll probably donate most of it. But, I'll still keep a few shirts."

"Can I keep some stuff too?"

"Of course, Dear. You don't need to ask me to do that."

"Thank you. There was just that green tie with the grey lining that I liked on him. I'd like to keep that."

"It's no problem. How about in a few days we start going through his things?"

"That sounds perfect."

"I'm glad."

After a few moments of silence, the car pulled into the cemetery. Within the short drive through the area, they finally reached the designated section where the grave laid. Once the vehicle was parked, the duo got out of the car as Jun grabbed the flowers. They strolled through the grass until they reached the correct grave. The stone still looked as clean as it did the day of the funeral, despite that being nearly two weeks earlier. Jun placed the camellias in front of the headstone and sighed.

"Hello, Ken." She said. "I've been meaning to visit you for quite some time, but I've been unable to get myself to. I brought camellias for you. I really hope you like them. Although, you yourself never had much of an opinion on flowers. Anyways, I'm doing okay. The house is just quiet without you there. I'll be going back to work next week, and I suppose I'll be ready to. Everything will just feel different. But, I'll be okay. I just miss and love you so much."

Jun sighed and looked down at her feet. Sakura looked between her mother and the headstone before determining that she was done speaking. Sakura stepped forward. "Hey, Dad. I'm doing fine now, but I still miss you. I wish you were still here. But, I know things can't be changed. And don't worry about us; I'll make sure Mom will be alright. I'll be okay too. I love you."

Sakura turned to her mother who gave a light smile to her. "Do you want to leave now, Sweetie?"

"Only if you want to."

"Sure. Some darker clouds are forming anyhow." The duo turned on their heels to leave. "Goodbye, Ken."

Once the duo reached the car again, Jun looked to Sakura. "Sakura?" she asked as she started the engine.

"Yes?" she looked to her mother.

"There's something I want to ask you. What would you think if I sold the house?"

"What?"

"I mean, I don't need a big house all to myself. I'd rather have a reasonably sized place to live."

The brunette thought for a moment. "Well, if you really want to. I understand why you'd want to sell it."

"So, you won't be mad at me if I do?"

"No. We've had some good memories there, but I guess we'll have to move on."

Jun nodded.

"So, where do you plan on living?"

"I was thinking a condominium. I've already been looking up some places."

"And you'll just be living alone?"

Jun gave her daughter a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if you're just going to be alone, don't you want me to move back in with you?"

"Oh Sakura, you shouldn't trouble yourself with that. I'll be fine."

"Mom, it's no problem for me to stay with you."

Jun sighed. "Sakura, I know you're happy living with Kaiba, so you shouldn't give that up for my sake."

"I'll be happy living with you too. I can see Seto anytime. I'm sure he'll understand."

"Dear-"

"Mom, please, I just want to make sure you're okay. If you're that concerned about it, then how about if it's just for a month?"

Jun thought briefly. "I suppose that'd be alright."

"Good. I'll tell Seto when I get back to the mansion."

"Sounds good, Dear."

After many minutes, the vehicle finally pulled up to the mansion. Sakura and her mother bid farewell to one another before Sakura headed back inside the mansion. She removed her shoes and walked up the stairs. _I hope Seto is back already,_ she thought. The brunette made her way down the hallway and knocked at the door to the young CEO's home office.

"Come in." Seto's harsh voice replied.

Sakura opened the door to find him sitting at his computer as usual. "Hey." She said.

"Hey." He replied as he furiously typed at his keyboard.

"I need to ask you about something."

The brunet halted his typing for a second upon sensing her serious tone. "Then go ahead and say it, I'm listening."

"Would it be okay if I moved back in with my mom for a while?"

"Hmph, seeing the present situation, that would be wise of you."

"So, you're alright with it?"

"I know you're not deaf. Did my response give any hint of a no?"

"No, sorry, you're right. Thank you."

"Hn, whatever."

 **X.X.X**

A few days later, all of Sakura's things were packed and ready to be moved in with her mother. Seto and Mokuba were at the front door bidding her farewell. "It's only for a month, right?" Mokuba asked.

"Yeah, but I'll still visit, so it's nothing to worry about."

The ebony-haired teen hugged her tightly. "Okay. I can't wait until next month so we can keep playing games everyday though."

"I know." Sakura soon turned towards Seto. She wrapped her arms around his slender form and it took a moment for him to return the embrace. "I'll miss you."

Seto snorted. "Oh please, don't be so melodramatic. You're moving in with your mother, not to the other side of the country."

"I know, but I'll still miss staying here."

Seto rolled his eyes.

Sakura turned to both of the brothers. "Well, I should get going. I'll probably come back and visit tomorrow. Bye, guys."

 **X.X.X**

Over a week and a half soon passed by. Jun successfully bought a condominium and she and Sakura were enjoying living in the same household once more. Their previous house was already up for sale and had a few potential buyers in mind, but nothing was official.

Sakura walked through the gates of the Kaiba Manor and strolled across the driveway to the front door. Once there, she entered the mansion to the familiar atmosphere. She smiled and removed her shoes before stepping further into the house. As she went to head up the stairs, she noticed Mokuba peek down at her from the top of the stairwell.

"Hi, Sakura!" He smiled.

"Hello, Mokuba." She greeted.

"I already have the console set up in the game room, you ready to play?"

"Yeah, just let me say hi to Seto first."

"Sure thing. He's in his office as usual."

Sakura nodded and headed down the hallway to the brunet's home office. She knocked on the closed doorway, and upon getting access to enter, stepped inside. "Hey, Seto." She smiled.

Seto grunted in response as his fingers danced across his keyboard. Sakura leaned against his office chair and watched him rapidly type away at lines of code. "Do you mind?" he asked glancing to her.

"I just like watching you work."

Seto rolled his eyes.

"Don't you need a break? I'm sure you've been typing for hours."

"I'll take a break when I finish these codes."

Sakura shook her head. "Come on, just for a few minutes. You can join Mokuba and me in playing Mario Kart."

Seto growled. "If I take a break, will you stop pestering me?"

"Sure."

She smiled and gave him a light peck on the lips. This kiss soon turned passionate as Seto halted his typing and moved his hands to her small waist to pull her closer to him. Sakura let out a small squeal in delight when his tongue delved in her mouth. She slowly moved her hands to his cheeks as she smiled further into their kiss. The couple soon separated to catch their breath as their breathing was felt against one another's skin. "I love you." Sakura breathed.

Seto gave her another sweet kiss in response.

 **x.x**

 **Hot. Damn. So, it's been a while, eh guys? Yeah… my bad. I've had such a busy schedule lately and my computer was really awkward a few weeks ago. Yada yada yada, excuses. But, hey, I updated! And I'm SO happy I did too! Like, it would bother me for a while if I didn't get it posted today. Anyhoo! Just let me know what you guys think and I'll talk to y'all next time!**


	16. Chapter 16

A dim lighting shone from the fireplace. It was nearly burned out, although nobody was adding more wood to the pile. The woman from one end of the table grinned to the man across from her. She crossed her legs as she studied the man closely. "So, you think you're qualified for the job?" she continued to grin.

The young male returned the grin. "That depends. How much am I getting paid?"

"The ransom differs. Based on his status, you'll be granted millions."

"That's what I like to hear." The man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He grabbed one from the pack and placed it in between his teeth. "And if anyone interferes?"

"The girl and the brother are just liabilities. They won't do anything. If the police get involved, then we kill him."

The man lit his cigarette and stared at her. "We'll lose money if he's dead."

"It makes no difference."

"He's going to remain alive until I get my payment."

The woman narrowed her eyes to him. Had he just challenged her authority? "You should watch what you say, Mister Bayer."

The man puffed his cigarette. "Well, last I checked, you can't complete this operation without my help. Besides, we both know you can't resist my charm, so it's highly unlikely you'll get rid of my assistance."

The woman rolled her eyes. "I could care less about your assistance. But, I know that you wouldn't dare challenge me or else your reward will sink into the fire pit."

The man glared to her. "Just tell me how you want this done."

The woman grinned. "Very well."

 **X.X.X**

Mokuba clicked open a can of soda and took a sip from it. He sat back down in front of the television as he picked up his controller. He rapidly clicked at the buttons of the controller as he watched the screen carefully. He soon looked up once he heard a knock at the door. He paused his game as he allowed the visitor access. The door opened to reveal a smiling light-haired brunette. "Hi, Mokuba!" Sakura greeted.

"Hey, Sakura!" Mokuba smiled. "What're you doing here?"

"My mom is at work, so I thought I could come over, if that's okay."

"Of course it is. It's pretty lonely around the mansion with Seto at work."

"I understand."

Sakura gave a smile to the ebony-haired teen as she sat down on the couch. She reached into her bag and pulled out her new laptop from it. She hummed quietly to herself as Mokuba continued playing video games. The teen soon growled in annoyance when his character was defeated by the boss of the level he was on. He glanced behind him and looked to Sakura. "Is that computer new?" he asked.

The brunette looked up. "Yeah, my mom bought it for me. She figured I'd need something for college."

"Wait, college?"

"Yeah."

"You're going to attend this year?"

"Yep! Entrance exams are in January, so I have two months to figure out where I'm going."

"Won't you have to go to a cram school first?"

"Yeah, I just applied to one a few days ago."

"That's great!"

She smiled. "Thank you."

 **X.X.X**

A few days later, Sakura sat on the couch in Seto's home office staring down at a textbook. She had recently started cram school to prepare herself for college and her grades were working well with it, although it took a few days to adjust back to having school work. Seto reentered his home office with a fresh mug of coffee and sat back down at his desk. Once he sat down, he finally looked to what Sakura was doing. _Is that school work?,_ he thought. _What is she doing? She graduated last year._ "What are you doing?" he asked.

She looked up at him. "School work." She stated.

"I can see that, but why?"

"I got into a cram school."

"Excuse me?"

She looked up from her notebook again. "I got into a cram school." She repeated.

"I heard what you said, I'm not deaf. But, _why?_ "

"Because I'm taking college entrance exams in January."

The brunet stared at her for a moment. _Is she stupid?_ "Do you honestly think that's a good idea?"

"Why? What's the problem?"

"Last I checked, you weren't in the best state of psychological health."

A long pause followed his statement. He looked up to the brunette after a few minutes to see her putting her things back in her bag. He watched her carefully unsure of what to say. Sakura lifted her bag and strung it over her shoulder as she glanced at him through a sour expression. "I'm leaving, Seto." She said.

"Excuse me?"

"We're done talking about this."

"No, we're not."

"Yes, we are!" she threw a harsh glare in his direction. "Clearly, you don't believe that I can handle myself!"

"I never said that."

"It doesn't matter, Seto."

The brunet watched her as she walked towards the door. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Home."

"Sakura, you can't just-"

"Leave me alone!" she yelled as she slammed the door behind her.

Seto let out a frustrated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose tightly. He sunk back into his chair and growled to himself. _Great going, moron._

 **X.X.X**

"Hey, Seto?" Mokuba called from the doorway to his brother's office.

"What is it, Mokuba?" Seto responded as he kept typing at his computer.

"Did Sakura leave already?"

"Yes."

"Why? She didn't even say goodbye."

"We had a fight." He replied monotonously.

The ebony-haired teen let out a deep sigh. "What did you do?"

"I stated that college wasn't the best idea for her due to her mental health."

 _Oh my God, Big Brother._ "Seto, that's synonymous with calling her insane."

Seto shrugged.

"You need to call her."

"I'm very busy, Mokuba. I can't have any delays in the new game I'm working on."

"Fine. But, you're calling her tomorrow morning."

"Hn, whatever."

 **X.X.X**

Seto blinked a few times to rid him of fatigue. The room around him was completely black with a faint lighting in front of him. He raised his head to the light to find the harsh blare of his computer screen just inches away. He hissed against the light as he tried to adjust his eyes to the sudden light. He looked over at the clock to see that it was just past one in the morning. _Shit, I must've fallen asleep._

He was brought to his full senses when he heard a loud bang from the yard. _What the hell?_ The brunet looked over to the windows that were obscured by the curtains. He stood up to observe what the cause of such a noise came from, but stopped when he heard it again. His brows furrowed in a solemn manner as he turned back to his desk. He opened one of the drawers to find his pistol lying against the dark wood. He lifted the object from the drawer and looked to it carefully. Something felt off about it. He opened the revolver to find only a single bullet inside. _Fuck. I thought I told Roland to reload it._

The brunet turned back towards the window when he heard a scratching against the glass. _Tch, I've only got one shot._ He positioned the pistol firmly as the glass waiting for the intruder's entrance. Suddenly, the glass burst in a forceful heap, leaving shards all over the carpet. A man stepped through the large gaping hole, with his features blocked by the darkness. The intruder smirked before charging himself towards the young CEO.

Seto pulled the trigger, but noticed the man was still capable of movement. He growled as he braced himself. The man tackled him to the ground, but the brunet was able to hit his temple with the end of his gun. However, the intruder still had good stature. He held down the brunet firmly with one hand pressing firmly against the brunet's chest and his foot atop of one of his arms.

The young CEO used his other free arm to shove the man off of him. Once the man was off of him, he rolled over to try and stand, but was met with a harsh punch to his jaw. The intruder soon had him lying on his stomach with both of his arms pinned behind him. Seto then felt a prick at the back of his neck and a cool liquid rushed into his veins. He shook himself aggressively to try to get the needle away from him, but found it was to no avail. "Stop struggling, damn it!" the man hissed.

Seto growled as he continued to squirm. But, it was too late. His vision began to blur while the muscles in his body grew weaker and weaker. He caught a glimpse of the attacker smirking as the brunet grew still. His body went numb and soon all he saw was black.

 **x.x**

 **Phew! Boy, am I glad this is done! I _never_ expected the wait for this chapter to be nearly two months, but I got caught up with school, some unfortunate issues, rehearsals, and the holiday season. But, now that I'm on break and Christmas is over for the year, I can chill. So, here's my belated message of Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays for some of you) and my future message of Happy New Year! So, tell me what y'all think and I'll talk to you next time!**


	17. Chapter 17

The office was a wreck. One of the window panels was shattered, leaving glass hidden in the carpeting. Papers were thrown from the desk and the chair was tipped over on its side. Mokuba worriedly scanned the room. The room never looked this horrible. It was terrifying to look at. And he could've helped prevent all of it if he had been awoken by the chaos. But, he wasn't. He let out a shaky sigh as he turned his gaze to the police officers looking over the scene.

Roland looked to the younger Kaiba and placed a hand on his shoulder. "The police know what they're doing, Sir. Mister Kaiba will be alright." He reassured the teen.

"I know Seto can handle himself, but he can only take so much at a time." Mokuba replied.

"We can handle the situation, Sir. Perhaps you should go and rest."

"No. He's my brother; I need to know what happened to him."

An officer stepped away from his examination and looked towards the ebony-haired teen. "Despite our best efforts, I'm afraid whoever took him left no DNA evidence."

"W-what?"

"Sadly, yes. The best we can do is wait for the attacker to show himself in hopes of ransom."

"What if they don't want ransom? What if they just want him dead? You can't just let them take him! You're the police, you're supposed to do something about it!"

"We apologize but the best we can do is closely watch the case and see if any new evidence shows up."

"You can't do that! You just can't!" Mokuba began to feel tears well up in his eyes.

"We're sorry." All of the police officers soon dismissed themselves, leaving the teen in silence.

Roland watched him carefully. "He'll turn up soon, Sir."

Mokuba sighed. "I want to be alone, Roland."

The man nodded and made his way to the door. Mokuba looked around the room once again. He just _had_ to help Seto. But, he knew he couldn't do it alone. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and began dialing the number of a certain brunette.

 **X.X.X**

Seto was ripped from his drug-induced slumber by a dizzying headache. There was a dim lighting somewhere in the room, but his blurred vision had trouble finding it. He tried to stand himself up, but found he was unable to move. Once he adjusted his vision to focus properly, he found that he was bound to a chair. _Of course._ He saw that the dim lighting was coming from a small fireplace in the corner of the room. The room itself looked like a simple sitting room. There was a table and chairs, desk, and a ripped couch that were used for furnishings. The brunet caught sight of a window, but it was boarded up. It was compacted so tightly that no sunlight could get through any cracks.

The brunet struggled against his bindings until he heard a click from behind him. He turned his head to the doorway to notice it was being unlocked with the knob turning. The door opened to reveal a lean figure. He right away knew this person wasn't his kidnapper. For one, they were female. The woman stepped away from the doorway and again locked the door behind her. She was at a pretty average height with blonde curls running down to her shoulders and a pair of vicious emerald eyes.

"Hello there, Mister Kaiba." She greeted with a smirk.

"Tell me who you are." He demanded.

"Ah, you're just as demanding as people say you are."

"Answer me!"

"Hm, not to mention heartless. But, my name isn't worth telling to you."

"Excuse me? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Oh, of course I do." She said in a condescending tone as she patted his cheek. Seto ripped his face away from her. The woman smirked at the brunet's action. "You're Seto Kaiba, CEO of the Kaiba Corporation and ruiner of other people's lives."

"Oh please, you're another one of those revenge-seeking psychos?"

"You could say that."

"So, what do you want? Ransom money? My company? Too bad, you're not laying a finger on any of it."

"I actually don't want anything of yours. To be honest, that idea disgusts me."

"Then what _are_ you after?"

The woman grinned and leaned closely to his face where he could practically touch noses with her. "I want you to suffer."

Seto rolled his eyes. "And how do you possibly plan to accomplish that? People already know I'm gone, they'll come before you can even lay a hand on me."

"That's where you're wrong, Kaiba." She stepped away from him and began circling him. "I'm not stupid, unlike your other kidnappers. I know how this whole process works. That's why I sent my accomplice with specific instructions on how to capture you, and you won't get a chance to escape. We've already made special measures for that."

"You're delusional."

"Think whatever you like, Kaiba. But, start getting used to this building. You'll be here a while." The woman began making her way back to the doorway.

"Come back here! We're not done here!"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure we are. Enjoy yourself while you can, Kaiba."

With that said, the woman left with the door locked behind her.

 **X.X.X**

Sakura gasped at the sight around her. She couldn't believe it. _Oh my God._ She turned back towards Mokuba. "A-and they don't know who took him?" she asked.

"No." he replied sadly.

The brunette took a few steps back and placed a hand against the wall for support. How could this keep happening to them? Couldn't they ever be able to catch a break? After taking a few minutes to calm herself, she looked back to the ebony-haired teen. "Have you tried calling him?"

"Several times, but it always went straight to voicemail."

She sighed and thought for a moment. "Well, what else can we do?"

"I'm not sure."

"I'm going to try calling him."

"It might not work though. Whoever took him probably has his phone."

"I don't care."

She grabbed her phone and dialed Seto's number. She placed the phone to her ear and waited for the dialing to cease. It kept ringing until it dropped to voicemail. She sighed. "Nothing."

Mokuba let out a worried sigh. "I hope he'll be okay."

"He will. Seto knows how to handle himself."

But, even she wasn't that sure.

 **X.X.X**

The young man passed by the locked door to the sitting room and growled. He was sick of the struggling racket that the young CEO was making. He heard another bang from inside, which was his identification of the chair falling over. The man looked back at the door and banged on it. "Hey, shut up!" he hissed.

"Fuck yourself!" Seto shouted back.

"You're not in a good spot to be talking that way! I'm in control here!"

He heard the brunet scoff from the other room. "And you think you're in a good position to be ordering _me_ around? Don't you know who I am?"

"You're a shitfaced CEO, that's what!"

"Oh come on, I get those words every day of my life."

The man was just _this_ close to breaking down the door and going homicidal on the brunet, but thought otherwise. It wouldn't be smart of him. He'd never get his reward that way. "Just keep your damn mouth shut!"

"I'll do as I please."

The man growled to himself. _Nobody_ was going to push him around. Perhaps a _little bit_ of pain would do his prisoner some good. Maybe then would he learn his place. The man dug into his pocket and took out the spare key to the room that he was given. He grated it into the lock and opened the door. The young CEO was lying against the floor due to the chair being knocked over from his struggling. The brunet looked up to his kidnapper.

"Have you finally come to your senses and realized it would be wise to release me?" Seto smirked.

The man glared to him, but instead of responding, kicked the brunet in the face. Seto seethed in pain as blood dripped from his nose. The attacker grinned at the brunet's sudden pain. He soon lifted the chair from the ground and put it back in its proper position.

"Now, you're gonna keep quiet, okay?" he eyed the brunet carefully as he still seethed from the pain. "Okay." He added in a smack to the CEO's face for effect. He turned from his prisoner and made his way out of the room, locking the door once more.

He continued on his way down the hallway until he came to another doorway. He opened it to reveal a small office where the young blonde woman sat reading that day's newspaper. "Yes?" she said as she glanced to him.

"I need to ask you something." He said as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"What? Is this about your reward again?"

"No." He lit his cigarette and puffed it. "Is it necessary to kidnap the girl as well?"

The woman set the newspaper down and stared to him. "Why do you suggest that?"

"I was out this morning to see how the news of the kidnapping was being taken at your request. For one, the police don't seem to know who has committed the crime." The woman grinned at this. "But, the girl came to the manor later. When I was previously watching Kaiba before the incident, I took note of her as well. She's smart and she'll eventually figure something out in due time. It would be wise to confine her as well."

The woman thought for a moment. "What about the brother? Does he pose a threat?"

"No, not much. It wouldn't be very beneficial to kidnap him."

"Hmm, very well. You can kidnap the girl. Besides, we could use this as another chance to make Mister Kaiba suffer." She let out a light giggle at the thought. "Imagine his face if his girlfriend died in front of him."

"Yes. I'll begin preparation right away."

The woman nodded with a wide grin.

The man then turned and left the office. He closed the door behind him and felt a light sense of security. Once in the shadows of the hallway, he revealed a malicious grin to himself.

 **X.X.X**

Sakura sighed as she stared at the cup of tea in front of her. Mokuba sat across from her at the kitchen table. The duo had been sitting in silence for nearly an hour, both unsure of what else they could possibly do. They had no new tactics that could help them. Sakura looked up to the clock on the wall to see that it was just past ten o'clock. "Mokuba," She started. He gazed up to her. "You should go and get some rest. We can try and work something out tomorrow."

"Alright."

The light-haired brunette stood from the table. "I'll come back in the morning, okay?"

He nodded.

"Will you be alright?"

"I guess so. I'm just worried."

"I know. I am too. But, we'll figure something out."

"I hope so."

"We will. Goodnight, Mokuba."

"Night."

Sakura turned to the front door and put her shoes back on. She looked back to the young teen and gave him a small wave to which he responded with a smile. She turned away from him and left the manor. She trudged through the crisp air that grew colder by the day. She shivered as she passed the main part of town. Her walk was very quiet, but lacking life. The streets were dim and no cars even passed by. _Well, it is getting late,_ she thought. She soon felt a strange feeling come over her as if someone were staring at her.

She turned around to see a man a distance away from her, but still gave a mysterious presence. It was hard to see him against the darkness though due to his dark clothing and hood being pulled over his head. She shrugged it off thinking that he was just a passerby. However, she grew concerned when he was still behind her when she took her usual backstreet instead of the main one. _Is he really following me?_ She turned back towards the man to see him pick up his pace slightly. Sakura grew worried and soon began to run. Once she was sure that she gave enough distance between the man and her, she turned into a small alleyway and held her breath. She waited a few seconds but no longer heard his footsteps. _Please don't still be there._ She peered around the corner to see that the street was empty. She gave a sigh of relief and checked a few times down the street before continuing on her way.

She began to calm down and hummed quietly to herself as she continued on her walk. However, she didn't quickly enough notice the running footsteps behind her. Before she could even sense it coming, she felt something collide with the top of her head. Her vision grew hazy as she fell forward, but felt someone catch her. She glanced upwards through blurry vision to see the same mysterious man before everything turned to darkness.

 **x.x**

 **And there we go. I'm honestly surprised how quickly I finished this chapter, but I just started working and popped it out. Also, these villains are extremely fun to write. I hope they're as much fun to read as they are to write. Plus, shit is going down with them. It'll bring sadistic "joy". Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I'll talk to y'all next time!**


	18. Chapter 18

Seto looked around the sitting room angrily. _That bastard will pay for this. He and that other woman will regret the day they were ever born._ He once again scanned the room for something he could use to escape. There was nothing. He struggled against his bindings in frustration, but it was to no avail. But, he didn't care; he _had_ to escape. He was _sick_ of every psycho out there capturing him for ridiculous motives. But, what he hated most was the fact that he wasn't able to evade them. It chipped at his pride each time. He growled to himself just thinking about it.

Suddenly, his blue eyes darted upwards when he heard the sound of a key grating into the locked doorway. He carefully watched the door open to reveal his dark-haired kidnapper. He soon noticed the somber expression on the man's face. "What? Have you finally realized that it'd be a wise idea to let me go?" Seto said.

The man looked up to him and his expression changed to a grin. "Nope." The man soon stepped fully into the room where Seto could see a figure hanging over the man's broad shoulder. "It's time we met our second guest." The brunet's eyes widened at the figure and his sapphire orbs were soon clouded in fury.

"You bastard!"

"There's no need for harsh language." The man set down his newest captive in a chair adjacent to the brunet. He quickly began binding her to the chair as Seto growled to him. "She should wake up any moment now. I didn't hit her head that hard."

Once the man finished tying the rope, he stepped back and looked between his two captives. Just as he had predicted, the girl soon began to open her eyes. She dizzily looked around the room. _Where am I?_ The room around her was spinning while a headache was pounding against her forehead.

"Sakura."

She blinked away from her foggy head and turned towards the brunet beside her. "Oh my gosh, Seto!" she yelled. "Are you alright?"

"I've been in better moods."

"Hey," their kidnapper interrupted. "you guys aren't here just to catch up."

Seto gave a look to the man. "Then how about you actually tell us why we're here?"

"I'm not authorized to give that information. I'm only here to handle the dirty work."

"Tch, you're _clearly_ doing a great job of that." Seto replied sarcastically.

"Seto, don't provoke him into anything." Sakura warned.

"Oh please, that pig doesn't intimidate me."

"Shut up, you arrogant prick!" the man yelled.

"You still obviously don't know who you're talking to."

"Seto, stop it!"

The brunet gave a low sigh. She was right. Spitting insults to the man wouldn't help anything. Seto gazed upwards to their attacker to see him grinning at the brunet arrogantly. Seto growled to him under his breath. Their kidnapper's attention was soon diverted when a buzzing noise sounded from his pocket. He looked over and grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and placed it to his ear. His expression turned sour rather quickly as he gritted his teeth together.

"What?" he hissed into his phone. "What do you mean you're lowering my pay? No! No, I'm coming there! I'm not babysitting these bitches any longer!" He angrily ended the call and grinded his teeth together. "That bitch!" he shouted as he forcefully kicked down the end table beside him. Sakura yelped as the table collapsed and splinters of wood flew around the room.

The man released a frustrated sigh and turned towards his captives. He stared to them before walking to the other side of the room and grabbing a roll of ducktape. He pulled out a few pieces of cloth from his overcoat and approached the young CEO. The brunet kept his lips sealed together and forcefully jerked his head away from the man each time he tried to grab a hold of his jaw. Beyond fed up with his antics, the man forcefully punched Seto in the gut.

"Seto!" Sakura yelled.

Seto gagged from the hit to which his attacker took the opportunity to place a piece of cloth between his teeth. Before the brunet could recover himself enough to spit it out, the man sealed his mouth with several layers of ducktape. The man then walked towards Sakura. Although, instead of immediately gagging her, he stared at her. His piercing and vexed silver eyes lingeringly looked into her frightened hazel ones. The look he gave her was enough to send chills down her spine. He then suddenly and harshly grabbed her jaw line, to which she replied with much screaming and trying to shake from his grip. However, soon enough, she was successfully gagged.

The man stood back and looked to them. "Don't even try communicating with each other, it's pointless."

The man soon opened the door and left, locking the door behind him. Sakura worriedly looked over to Seto, where he could see every ounce of fear in her eyes. He carefully looked around the room that could assist them in escaping. His eyes then stopped searching when he noticed the broken end table. There was plenty of sharp wood that he could use to cut the ropes. He looked down to his ankles. They were unbound. He would easily be able to stand himself in the chair and walk over there. He positioned himself correctly and stood up, with his form hunched over from the chair bound to him. He rushed himself over to the remains of the table and turned himself around. His wrists were bound together behind him but he was still capable of grabbing items. He felt for a piece of wood and picked up a particularly sharp piece and positioned it in his grasp to saw away the ropes.

After a few seconds of quick work, the ropes around his wrists snapped. Next, he went to the ones binding his midsection to the chair. The bottom rope broke off and the young CEO easily wiggled himself out of his bindings. Once freed, he ripped the ducktape off of his mouth and spat out the piece of cloth. He rushed over to Sakura next and quickly began untying the ropes. The bindings fell to the floor and the light-haired brunette hurriedly peeled the tape from her lips and removed the gag from her mouth. She then sprung up from the chair and wrapped her arms around Seto's neck tightly. Seto returned the embrace by wrapping his arms around her small waist.

"Come on, we're getting out of here." He told her.

She let go of him and looked to him. "How? What if that guy is waiting for us outside the room?"

"Tch, they don't scare me. That moron was even stupid enough to leave us with the right pieces to escape."

The brunet reached down and inspected a small splinter of wood from the ground. He bit down on it until the piece was flattened and sharp enough. He stalked his way over to the door and placed the piece of wood carefully into the lock. He jiggled it around in the slot for a moment before the door finally clicked open. The brunet stood up and turned back towards Sakura.

"Let's go." He simply said.

He grabbed onto her wrist and peered down both ways of the hallway. It was all empty. Seto then dragged her off to the left side of the hallway as the duo ran for an escape. It was pointless to check any of the doorways they passed; they likely just led to other rooms. The hallways just seemed to go on forever no matter how far they ran. Wherever they were being held, it was huge, likely a mansion. But, the place was old. The wallpaper was chipped and the light bulbs lighting their way were nearly burned out. Finally, the couple came to an opening in the hallway that lead into a large foyer. There was a staircase off to the side and in front of them laid the pair of twin doors they were looking for.

As the duo ran for the exit, they stopped in their tracks when they heard a gunshot above them. They looked up at the staircase to find the blonde woman wielding a pistol aiming straight at them. Sakura looked back towards the exit to find the same man as before blocking their path holding a knife.

The blonde woman's gaze flicked between her two captives. "It's a shame, really. I hadn't planned on killing both of you this soon." She said. "But, we can avoid that if both of you just come back quietly."

Seto looked between the two attackers then leaned down to Sakura. "When I go to charge him, I want you to run." He whispered.

"What? No! I'm not leaving you here!" she harshly whispered back.

"Do as I say!" he hissed. "Just get out and alert the police."

Sakura opened her mouth once again to protest, but knew it was hopeless against him. "Alright."

"Shut up, both of you!" the man yelled.

Seto turned towards the man and charged straight for him. Sakura ran after him, but made her target the doorway. A long ringing of gunshots sounded through the air, but she still ran. _Almost there. Almost there. Almost there!_ She finally reached the doorway and grasped onto the handle. She clicked the doorway open where she was blinded by a stream of sunlight as it filled the room. She began to push the doorway open and readied herself to sprint, but was stopped when somebody tackled her from behind. She yelped as she fell to the ground and was dragged back indoors. The door was slammed closed by the blonde woman hovering over Sakura. She screamed and tried to thrash away from the woman. The woman soon grabbed her by the hair and lifted her up.

"Seto!" Sakura screamed in desperation.

She stopped once she felt the metal of the woman's pistol press to her temple. She looked over to the brunet to see him pin down the man as he turned back to the other attacker. "Let go of her!" Seto shouted to the woman.

"Release him first." The woman demanded.

The brunet had to buy his time. Each option led to a negative. Either watch Sakura die or be recaptured. One was worse than the other, he concluded. He slowly loosened his grip on the man, only to be suddenly elbowed in the face. He fell to the ground and went to get up once again, only to be pinned by his attacker. He looked over to see the blonde woman discard the gun and pull out a syringe from her pocket. She pressed Sakura roughly against the tile floor and injected whatever was in the syringe into her veins. Her struggling soon stopped and her body fell limp. The brunet angrily looked back to his attacker to see him also holding a syringe. He tried to wriggle out of the man's grip, but he couldn't free his arms. The prick of the needle soon touched his skin and the stinging drug entered his system. Within seconds, everything faded to darkness.

 **X.X.X**

Seto reawakened in total darkness. He was unaware if he was even awake, or in the midst of a drug-induced slumber. He soon concluded that it was reality when he felt cold cement against his face. The brunet went to lift himself from the ground, but stopped when he felt that his wrists were bound together. It wasn't using rope this time though; they were handcuffs. He soon realized that the latter had been done to his ankles as well. He slowly got up and sat upwards on the floor.

A thought soon occurred to him. What had happened to Sakura? He quickly looked around the dark room, but he could tell he was the only person there. His attention was diverted when he heard a clicking sound from the other side of the room. It sounded like a lock. A doorway opened up and a dim lighting soon flooded the room. Seto squinted against the light as a person entered the room. They shut the door and reached one arm towards the ceiling. Suddenly, a flickering light bulb lit the room. The brunet's expression went straight to anger when he saw the blonde woman from earlier.

"Hello, Kaiba." She said. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Where's Sakura?" he asked.

The woman grinned and placed a hand to her ear. "Pardon?"

The brunet growled. She was mocking him. "Don't play games with me!"

The woman scowled to him. "She's fine. She's just in another room." She took a step closer to him and glared. "Now, don't even try talking in that tone again, you worthless man."

" _Please_ , you morons don't seem to understand who you're talking to."

"No, you don't know who _you're_ talking to. You may think that you have some kind of authority over people like me, but believe it or not, we're belittling you here."

"Spare me the lies."

"Think what you wish, Kaiba. Maybe a few days in confinement will do you some good."

The brunet scoffed.

"We'll just see how things go. I'll have my associate bring your meal later." The woman turned away from him and headed to the door. "Farewell, Kaiba."

 **X.X.X**

Sakura shot upwards from her slumber. She hurriedly looked around, only to find herself left alone in a small room. She was surprised to see that she wasn't bound to anything. Another surprise was that she was atop of a bed, although the mattress was thin and worn. The only other furniture in the room was just a small table with a lamp and a few books atop it. The walls surrounding her were hastily painted white, although it was already more than halfway chipped off. There were two doorways. One doorway didn't even have a door attached to it, and lead to an enclosed area that served as a bathroom. The other doorway seemed like the obvious exit.

She slowly went to step off of the bed. She stalked her way over to the exit, but froze when the knob began to fiddle. She frightfully recoiled until she backed into the side of the bed. She frantically looked around for something to defend herself with, but there was nothing close enough to her. Her muscles were trembling so much that she may not be capable of defense anyhow. The door soon opened to reveal the male attacker. Now that the chaos from earlier seemed to die down, she could finally study his features more closely. He was a tall man, nearly as tall as Seto, with dark hair that was gelled back out of his face. He had a toned figure and a calculating pair of silver eyes.

The man grinned to her. "Hello, Sakura." He greeted. The light-haired brunette trembled as she looked to him. He only chuckled.

Sakura then finally felt that she had regained enough sense to speak. "W-who are you?"

The man continued to grin at her. "Hm, well, being a hospitable person myself, and knowing the fact that the probability of you leaving this place alive is zero, I suppose I can tell you." He straightened his form slightly. "I'm referred to as Nicholas, but you may call me Nick."

 _Nicholas,_ she thought. "A-and who's the other woman?"

Nick continued to grin. "Oh, _her_? You needn't worry about her. Her only focus is Mister Kaiba. Besides, she'd likely murder me if I let that information slip out."

"Then what do you two want?"

"Well, her wishes are focused solely on the destruction of Kaiba, and I'm also not permitted to give details. But, for me? I was initially just here under hire in promise of reward, but now, I see some things as more of a _desire._ "

Sakura nervously wrapped her arms around herself when she noticed the strange look he was giving her. It sent shudders down her spine. Nick merely chuckled at the scared expression she wore.

"Well, I suppose I should give you some time to get used to your surroundings." He turned back towards the doorway. He placed a hand on the knob then looked at her once again. "Oh, while you're here, you mind as well forget that boyfriend of yours. Neither of you will be seeing each other again. Have a pleasant evening." He chuckled to himself as he left the room.

Sakura felt the pit in her stomach sink even lower. She fell backwards onto the bed and curled herself up. What were they supposed to do now?

 **x.x**

 **About damn time I finished this! Literally yesterday and today were my only productive days with this and I'm so glad I got it done. And I seriously love these villains, and I hope they're as interesting for you guys as they are for me. Initially in this story, I only wanted one villain to pop in, but then I thought up this awesome little duo halfway through the Hirotani plot and I couldn't refuse putting them in here. Anyhoo! I'm rambling. I hope y'all enjoyed and I'll talk to ya next time!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Heh, hey guys. So, here's my usual warning letter. The chapter takes a bit of a dark turn towards the middle to end. And there's also an attempted rape in it. I _really_ wanted to avoid it and struggled back and forth with putting it in, but realized it was too important for future events. So, if any of it makes any of you uncomfortable or is triggering, then here's your warning. I'd just hate for any of you to get anxiety or a panic attack if it happens to be a little too sensitive. So, anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

The younger ebony-haired Kaiba impatiently tapped his fingers against the table he was beside. Everything was going wrong. First, Seto disappeared, then Sakura. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were taken by the same person. But, who? Mokuba sighed as he watched the clock tick away. Everything was so lonely now. He was afraid and overall depressed over the disappearance of his sibling. He sighed once again just recalling it all.

"Sir?"

Mokuba suddenly looked towards the voice calling him. "Oh, hi Roland."

"I have some news about Mister Kaiba."

The ebony-haired teen jumped from his chair, causing it to crash to the ground. "What?"

"The police did another thorough investigation of Mister Kaiba's office and gained some new evidence. They found a piece of human hair buried in the carpeting."

"Who does it belong to? Did they test it yet?"

"They're in the process of a forensic analysis."

"Tell me the second they find anything."

"Yes, Sir." Maybe there was some hope after all.

 **X.X.X**

The young CEO growled to himself. He was still trapped. He had no connection to the outside world, other than when his kidnapper brought him a meal once a day. Based on his calculations though, he concluded that he had been there at least three days. Any normal person would've been in the process of developing mental problems by being confined and nearly alone for that long, but not him. He wasn't going to let anything unnerve him. _Nothing_ would ever get the best of him again.

The brunet looked up when the door opened. The blonde kidnapper greeted him. "Here's your meal, Kaiba." She said as she dropped the tray to the ground in front of him.

Seto looked down to the tray to see a glass of water and a bowl of uncooked rice. He was actually able to reach for his food due to not having his hands bound behind his back anymore. Instead, only one of his wrists was cuffed to the bed.

"You know, you don't seem to be doing a good job of 'making me suffer'." He said.

"Your sass isn't going to change the position you're in, Kaiba. You know that."

"And if you were intelligent in the field of kidnapping, then you'd know that it'd be wise to have killed me by now."

"I'm waiting for the day of your breaking point."

"Tch, that'll never happen."

"On the contrary, it could happen sooner than you think."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're obviously aware of my associate, yes? Well, I've noticed an odd behavior from him." She waited a moment for some sort of questioning look from him, but merely was met with his stoic face. "Well, he seems to have some sort of liking towards… Sakura, was it?"

Her words seemed to get a reaction out of the CEO.

"Now, I wouldn't call it _just_ a liking. I've been around men before that have acted that way, and frankly, I'd rather use the word _lust._ "

"He'd better stay away from her."

"I'm honestly not sure if he can." She said as she released a grin.

"He'd do it if he knows what's good for him."

"Well, I'm in no position to order him around on it. So, I suppose I'll leave you to contemplate with yourself."

"Come back here!"

She merely glanced back to grin at him again before heading out of the room.

 **X.X.X**

"Sir, the forensic analysis came back."

"What did they say, Roland?" Mokuba stared to him.

"They found a match to a man named Nicholas Bayer-"

"Do they know where to find him?" Roland could sense every ounce of eagerness and concern in the teen's voice.

"They're currently running several more background checks. Although, they believe him to be west of city limits based on a few witness sightings."

The ebony-haired teen sprung up from his chair and grabbed his shoes from the carpet. "Roland, get the limo ready."

"Sir?"

"I'm going to search on my own. Once the police have more information, then they can join me."

"Are you sure it's wise to head out alone?"

"I have to find them, Roland!" the teen shouted back as he exited the room.

"Yes, Sir."

 **X.X.X**

The young CEO sat through his confinement. _That pig better not dare to get near Sakura. If he does, he's dead._ Seto was soon taken from his thoughts when the doorway to his room opened once again to reveal his blonde attacker. _What could she want now?_ He gave an annoyed sigh when she entered wearing a very somber expression. His gaze soon flicked down to the pistol she bore in her grasp.

"Damn it all." She cursed under her breath as she slammed the door shut.

"What is it now?" Seto asked monotonously.

The blonde soon shot a glare to the brunet. "How did you do it?" she demanded.

"You'll have to be a bit more specific."

"The police. How did you contact them? I just saw them searching a few miles from here."

Seto laughed to himself. "I'm afraid I didn't do anything."

"Don't lie!"

"I'm not. The fact is that your ludicrous plan is collapsing and you severely underestimated the talents of my security team."

The blonde smirked to herself. "I'm afraid things won't be working out well for you either."

Seto wiped the smug grin from his face.

"The reason is that I happened to see my associate make his way to your lover's room."

"That snake," He cursed to himself. "He better leave her alone if he knows what's good for him."

"Your constant threats are very weak when you're bound like that, Mister Kaiba."

Seto growled as he pulled against the handcuffs around his wrists until the skin grew red. The blonde gave a light laugh at his struggles.

"Try all you like, Mister Kaiba, it'll never work."

"Try me!"

She gave an amused sigh. "My, and here I thought you were intelligent. It's impossible, just give up."

"Seto Kaiba doesn't give up on anything."

"Hm," the blonde readjusted her grip on the pistol in her hand. "Then perhaps I'll have to make sure that your life will be given up."

 **X.X.X**

Sakura released a shaky sigh to herself. She brought her knees closer to her chest as she looked over the room for the thousandth time. Nothing had changed about it; it was still silent and simple. Perhaps she kept looking it over hoping something about it would change. She needed something to relieve her of her worry and the books left for her on the desk never seemed to help. She gave another sigh to herself and once again slipped back into her usual thoughts. _I hope Seto is alright. I hope they didn't harm him at all._ She shuddered to herself briefly.

The light-haired brunette suddenly jumped when she heard the doorway open up. Her widened gaze stared straight over to her kidnapper, Nicholas. He gave a sly grin to her as he entered the room. "Good evening, Sakura." He greeted.

She merely stared to him through bright eyes that shone anxiety. She broke away from her frozen state and inspected him closely. Something was wrong. He wasn't wielding her daily meal, which was one of the only reasons why he'd enter the room. But today, he held nothing. _What does he want then?_ Sakura carefully held her knees closer to herself in hopes of gaining a sense of security.

Nicholas grinned to her once again and stepped closer to her defenseless form. Sakura's eyes widened fearfully at his slow movement. The dark-haired man soon was standing only a matter of inches away from her. He crouched down to meet her level and proceeded to look at her up and down.

"My, my, you look alluring today." He said.

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. What did he just say to her? She carefully thought back for a moment to try and figure out if she had heard him correctly. She then looked back up when she still felt her kidnapper's gaze upon her.

"What?" He questioned. "Can't take a compliment?"

 _No. This can't be real. Is it?_ Sakura was overtaken in a fit of trembling and tried to calm herself down. However, she found it increasingly difficult. She just needed to escape from the situation. She slowly slide up the wall until she was in a standing position, but found that her kidnapper had done the same. The light-haired brunette went to take in another breath, but jumped suddenly when an arm slammed against the wall to her right. His other arm was pressed against the wall as well, boxing her in. There was no way she could run now. The best she could do is attempt to defend herself. With hesitation gone, she quickly lifted her knee until it made contact below his belt.

Nicholas suddenly backed away from her as he seethed in agony. "Bitch!" he growled.

Sakura took advantage of his paralyzed form and frantically ran for the doorway. She reached the doorknob but soon recalled the fact that it was locked. She nervously looked around to try and find something useful to pick the lock, but there was nothing. In a panicked fashion, she turned back to the doorway and tried the knob again, but to no avail. Abruptly, she soon felt her feet lift from the ground. Her attacked had lifted her up by the waist.

"No!" she screamed. She frantically squirmed around in his grip. "Let go of me!"

He did not respond, but rather threw her out of his grip onto the bed. Sakura scurried away, but didn't get far before she was dragged back. She continued to scream loudly as she attempted to get away from him. She was soon pinned down underneath him on the mattress.

"You're certainly a fighter, aren't you?" Nicholas inquired.

"Stop! Please!" Hot tears were threatening to spill out from her eyes.

He merely smirked to her. Before she could let out another scream, she was cut off when a pair of lips crushed against hers. She tried to pull out of the kiss, but that only seemed to make things worse. She shrieked when her lip was bitten down on roughly. She wrestled her lips away from his in a panic, but was stopped when her cheek was met with a harsh slap.

"You really don't want to make this simple for me, do you?"

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a length of rope. Through much struggling and thrashing, he secured her wrists to one of the iron bars at the headboard. He then moved his hands down to her shirt, to which he tore open revealing her pale skin.

"Please don't do this." Sakura pleaded. Tears were pouring down her cheeks. "I'm begging you. Stop."

"I'm afraid not. You're mine now."

Nicholas removed his overcoat and soon went to the fastenings of his belt. Sakura continued to feel a sinking feeling within her. Except, she felt like she had hit the bottom of the abyss. There was nobody to help her. She was alone. It would just be another event to add to her list of traumas. It was over for her. She looked back from her trance to see her attacker reaching for the zipper of her jeans. _No._ She lifted her foot up and attempted to kick him away from her. However, he caught her foot and proceeded to reach for her once again.

Promptly, there was a loud bang against the doorway. The two of them looked up for a brief moment. Suddenly, the door burst open causing splinters of wood to fly across the room. Multiple police officers stormed into the room with guns raised upwards and expressions of determination.

* * *

 **DEAR LORD! I just fucking wrote that! Praise the Lord for perfect timing! I myself was a bit worried there for a second. But yeah, this chapter was hella uncomfortable to write. And the chapter itself probably seemed slightly meh due to that, despite me editing several times. But, I survived. Anyhoo, my spiel isn't important. I'm just glad that this thing is done. And new spacing things because the old ones bothered me, woo. So, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I'll talk to you all next time.**


	20. Chapter 20

Everything was a haze. The world seemed clouded to Sakura. She had just gone through a nightmare and was now in the state of limbo just before the awakening. She found it difficult to comprehend anything. There was merely a fog covering her senses, although several yells and curse words were heard from the distance. A bit of her numbness was lost when she felt a pressure loosen from her wrists. The light-haired brunette looked up to see a female police officer beside her with a pocket knife and cut rope in her grasp.

The officer helped her into a sitting position and placed a blanket around her shoulders. "Are you alright, Miss?" she asked slowly.

Sakura blankly stared to her. She found herself unable to speak. She merely continued to look at the woman.

The officer looked to her carefully. "Miss? Are you able to tell me your name?"

Somehow, Sakura's ability to speak returned to her. "Sakura." She slurred.

"Okay, Sakura, thank you. Is there anything that...?"

Sakura deafened the rest of the woman's words. She soon looked past the woman and saw several other police officers at the other side of the room. They were struggling to hold down a young man who was fighting them off vigorously. Sakura's eyes soon widened when she saw the livid expression of Nicholas look to her in the midst of the struggle. Her mouth fell a gap and she felt the need to scream, but couldn't find her voice.

The officer noticed her frightened look and turned back to the scene behind them. "Come on, let's get you out of here, Sakura. Can you stand?"

The light-haired brunette couldn't respond. Her focus was too indulged in the scene before her. She soon felt herself being dragged to her feet on a wobbly stance. The officer supported her as they slowly made their way past the scene before them and left the room. Sakura looked around the area outside of her prison. Her hazy gaze was met with a long hallway of cement. The hallway had lights placed even throughout the ceiling, but was still dimly lit. It all appeared to be underground.

Sakura felt herself starting to walk along the hall. "It'll be alright." A voice reassured her. "You're safe with us here. We'll take care of you."

 **X.X.X**

Seto flashed his gaze between the doorway and the blonde woman in front of him. There were voices outside the doorway, followed by a series of bangs against the door. His stormy eyes flicked back to the blonde, who held a panicked expression as she looked to the sources of the banging. The pistol held in her hand was loosely hanging between her fingers. The blonde snapped from her trance and looked to the brunet. The two of them stared at each other for a matter of seconds with each other's gaze conveying the hatred they held for one another. The brunet's kidnapper soon broke her gaze as she darted towards Seto and captured his neck in a tight grip. It wasn't forceful enough to kill him, but enough to prevent him from moving his head around. Seto went to struggle against her, but stopped when he felt her pistol against his temple.

A couple tense seconds passed until the doorway finally broke down. Several police officers stormed into the room, but stopped when they witnessed the blonde holding the brunet hostage. The woman saw their concerned expressions and focused herself. "Take a step closer and he dies." She said.

"Drop the gun, ma'am."

"Never. Either he dies or you all get out of here. I win either way."

Seto scoffed as he rolled his eyes. This situation had gone far beyond ridiculous.

The blonde flicked her gaze to the brunet. "Oh, shut up!" she seethed.

She soon moved her gaze back to the police in front of her. They all had their guns trained on her with neither one of them looking like their posture would change. Ever so slowly, the blonde began to realize that she was losing this battle. Defeat was creeping along just beside her.

Hot, angry tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "No," she started. "No! It's his fault!" she motioned to the young CEO. "It's all his fault! Why am I suddenly the villain? _He's_ the one who ruined my life!"

Seto looked to the blonde. She had lost her graceful and firm posture. Now she was reduced to a fit of shaky sobs. Her grip on the pistol wasn't even proper. The young CEO swiftly took his chance and jerked his head to the side, causing the pistol to fall out of the woman's grip and her to lose her balance. She went to retrieve the gun, but was stopped by the police. They brought her to the ground and proceeded to handcuff her as she struggled. Once the blonde was restrained, the police went to the brunet and released him from his bindings. Seto finally got to his feet and went to approach the doorway. It was time that he got out of this mess.

"Seto!" a voice shouted for him.

Seto looked up to see his younger brother rush in through the doorway. The ebony-haired teen met his sibling with a tight embrace. He finally found him. Mokuba worriedly looked up to his older sibling. "Seto, are you alright?" he asked. "Did they hurt you? What happened?"

"I'm fine, Mokuba."

"Are you sure?"

Seto soon felt his mind come back into full function. His thoughts drifted back to before his escape. He had faintly heard screaming and commotion from down the hall, but he wasn't sure if it was just in his imagination. Was it Sakura? Did she escape? The brunet looked back to his brother.

"Where is Sakura?"

"I saw her upstairs. She seemed a bit unnerved, but other than that, she's fine."

The brunet nodded. He took a quick glance to the incident behind him. His blonde kidnapper was successfully handcuffed and restrained, although she appeared very distraught. Seto turned away from the scene. He swiftly made his way to the doorway, where his brother followed closely behind him. They made their way through the dim hallway until they reached the narrow staircase that led upstairs. The ground level of the building was full of bright light; something Seto hadn't encountered in days. The duo made their way around the ground level until Mokuba led his brother into a large sitting room. Seto soon noticed a small couch in the corner of the room. Sakura was huddled up upon it with a long blanket wrapped around her. Her eyes were downcast towards the floor, with her stare seemingly devoid of life.

"Sakura," Seto began as he saw her.

Something seemed to click within the light-haired girl's mind as she looked to the source of the voice. She felt her senses return to her as she made eye contact with the brunet. A wave of relief, but also pain crossed through her mind. Suddenly, Sakura leaped from the couch and rushed straight to Seto. He was a bit taken aback by her quick action, but soon adjusted himself to her affection. The brunet held her close to him as she shook in the midst of sobs. The young CEO silently questioned to himself. No, it wasn't the right time to ask what had happened to her. It would be best to wait until she calmed down. So, he simply held her in silence until her sobs began to slow down.

"Seto, I was so scared." She began. "I didn't-."

"We'll talk about it later."

She slowly nodded as she rubbed the corner of her eye. "I want to go home, Seto."

The brunet nodded. "The limo is waiting outside. Are you capable of walking?"

"Yeah."

The brunet nodded as he, Sakura, and Mokuba made their way to the exit of the manor. The trio was met with the darkening sky where the sun was barely still peeking through the horizon. They soon reached the limo and Mokuba and Sakura entered the vehicle. Just before Seto was about to get in himself, he looked back to the broken building to see Roland approaching them.

The young CEO glanced back to the duo. "Wait here."

Seto stepped away from the limousine and advanced over to his assistant. "What have you found out?" he asked.

"Well, Sir," Roland began. "The police have gotten the information that she goes under the name of Victoria Connors. With some research on our database, we've located a potential family member of hers that worked at our European branch."

"So?"

"So, we're still doing further research, but this family member seemed to have been fired by your corporation."

Seto rolled his eyes. All his enemies were all the same. They only wanted revenge for something simplistic his company did. It was only the way that business worked. It wasn't _his_ fault that people were fired and were potentially left in a bad financial position. It was their own fault for being incompetent. Seto merely gave an annoyed sigh and looked back to his assistant.

"Inform me when you find any other information."

"Yes, Sir."

Seto turned away from his assistant and went back to the limousine. He opened the door and stepped inside the vehicle as he instructed his driver to leave. The brunet looked up front to see his younger sibling fast asleep as it was approaching night time. Sakura sat beside Seto with a vacant expression as she looked out the window. He soon followed suit and gazed out his own window. It would be at least another hour until they reached the city.

Slowly, time began to pass. First twenty minutes went by, then thirty, then finally forty. Seto looked back over to Sakura who had been restless ever since they left. _It's either now or never,_ he thought. He had to know what exactly happened back there.

"Sakura," he began. She didn't stir. "Sakura." He repeated.

She finally snapped from her trance and gazed over to him. She looked at him with a questioning stare.

"What happened to you?" he asked monotonously.

Sakura moved her gaze down to her hands resting in her lap. She thought back to the event that occurred nearly two hours before. Merely thinking about it stirred up fear within her core. She felt the description of the event at the tip of her tongue, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came. She was trembling not only physically, but mentally as well. The light-haired brunette took several deep breaths to calm herself. After a few minutes, she still didn't feel prepared to say anything, but there was no use in waiting. She took another shaky breath and tried to collect her thoughts.

"Nicholas tried to assault me." The words she spoke felt like fire burning in her mouth. It was bad enough having to say his name alone, but putting the whole event in one sentence made it twice as bad. "The police came in and stopped him before he succeeded."

The vehicle was dead silent. Seto sat still with his gaze staring forward. His teeth gritted against one another as his jaw clenched. _He did what?_ His hands balled into fists as his stare remained cold. _That snake._

"He'll pay for that." He muttered.

Seto's mind drifted when he heard muffled sobs from beside him. He peered over to see Sakura sobbing hysterically into her hands. The brunet's moment of anger passed as he looked to her helpless form. One emotion formed in his mind. Pity. He had never bothered to pity anyone before, but this time felt different.

He thought to himself for a second. Would it be wise to try and comfort her? He concluded that it was. The brunet slowly lifted his hand and lightly touched Sakura's shoulder. He quickly felt all of her muscles tense up and freeze. Before he could contemplate why, a harsh smack forced his hand away from her. Seto snapped his gaze to the light-haired brunette. She didn't turn to meet his gaze.

"Don't touch me," she murmured.

The limo grew silent again. Seto raised an eyebrow to her action. He eventually turned away from her and shrugged. It was probably nothing worth questioning.

 **X.X.X**

Two days passed by since then. Two whole days. Seto had tried contacting her in that time, but she never answered her phone. He knew she needed time to recover from their recent events, but it would have been nice if she answered her phone just once. Something about it just concerned him. Had something happened to her? Did he do something wrong? He didn't know why, but the latter question seemed to stick in his mind. Certainly, he didn't do anything wrong. _Right?_ However, when he thought back to that night, she got out of the limousine without saying a word or even looking at him.

The brunet thought to himself for a few seconds. After contemplating the situation, he grabbed his phone and told Roland to get his driver. Seto stood from his desk and headed out of his office. He headed downstairs and eventually into the late autumn weather. He directed his driver to his specific destination and waited to arrive there. He crossed his arms in front of his chest as he sternly watched the scenery of the town pass by. Eventually, the brunet arrived at his destination and got out of the vehicle. He came to the door of the small complex where the nameplate read 'Takahashi Residence'.

Seto rang the doorbell and waited. After nearly a minute, he went to reach for the doorbell again until the sound of the door unlocking came through. The door opened to reveal Jun at the other end. She eyed the brunet for a second.

"Oh, hello Kaiba," She greeted.

"Is Sakura here?"

"Yes," Jun nodded. She turned towards the hallway behind her. "Sakura! Come here, please!"

A few seconds passed before they heard footsteps coming towards them. Sakura came towards them but stopped when she saw the brunet. Jun noticed the odd look she had and stared between the couple. Sakura then looked towards her mother.

"Mom? Didn't you say you were going to the store a minute ago?"

Jun quickly caught on to what she was getting at. "Yes, I did." She headed over to the kitchen to grab her purse and coat. "I'll be back in a while, dear. Call me if you need anything."

Sakura nodded as she watched her mother leave. As soon as the door closed, her gaze traveled over to Seto. "What do you want?" she asked.

"We need to talk." He replied.

"About what?"

"Why are you ignoring my phone calls?"

Sakura shrugged as she avoided his gaze. _Whatever this is, she's being pathetic about hiding it,_ Seto thought.

"You know I hate repeating myself."

The light-haired brunette sighed. "I need space, Seto."

"Excuse me?" Was she breaking up with him?

"I want to be alone for a few days."

"What are you trying to say?"

Sakura sighed again. She _really_ didn't want to go into detail about it. "Seto, I really don't want to talk about it now."

"No. We're discussing this now."

"I don't want to today. We'll talk another time. Can you just go home?"

"No."

A pang of annoyance began to grow within her. "Seto, this is _my_ house."

"Correction, it's your mother's."

"I still live here, so I say you should leave."

"I'll do as I please."

She gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Fine, I'll tell you! I was almost _assaulted_ and I need time to recover! But no, you can't even respect that because you don't know how these things affect people!"

"Of course I do."

"Are you kidding me?"

"I don't lie."

"Well, what makes you think you understand how I feel?"

"I've had my fair share of experiences."

"Nothing like this!"

"There's no difference. It's not like you were actually raped."

The brunet's cheek was soon met with a sudden slap. His harsh eyes gazed back to Sakura who was fuming at him. She kept her jaw clamped shut until she spoke again.

"It's over between us, Seto." She said. "Leave."

"What?" he hissed.

"You heard me. I obviously don't matter enough to you if you can't even try to understand me. Just because you were abused doesn't mean you comprehend _my_ situation."

Seto glared to her. "Hmph, whatever." He turned towards the door. "I've obviously wasted months of my time on you." He left swiftly with the door slamming behind him

* * *

 **Whoops, shit just happened. But PRAISE THE LORD for Spring Break! Now I actually have time on my hands! Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter at least partially written. Although, I do want to work on some other stuff like editing TSF or more character work, but who knows what I'll do. So anyways! I hope you guys have a great Easter and I'll talk you ya next update!**


	21. Chapter 21

A pair of blank eyes peered at the piece of glistening silver. The piece swung lightly from its chain as it dangled from a pair of fingers. Sakura intently stared to the necklace. _Get rid of it,_ a voice instructed her. _He obviously doesn't care about you. Just get rid of it. Save yourself the trouble._ However, something held her back. The pendant innocently circulated in midair. The young brunette sighed. _I can't do it,_ she told herself. The sentence repeated in her mind, while the other voice fought against it.

Seto gave her that necklace. They broke up. Why keep it? But, what if the separation doesn't last? The dueling voices in her mind were pounding at her temples, leaving her with a terrible headache. Sakura carefully contemplated both possibilities, but one of the voices spoke to her clearer than the other.

 _Why should I keep it?_ She contemplated on the thought further. _He walked away without a second glance. He doesn't even care!_ That last thought made it a set deal. She grasped the silver chain in her palm and unlocked her bedroom door. She peered around the hallway before remembering that her mother was at work. The light-haired girl wandered through the hallway and soon into the kitchen. She looked over the countertops for any sort of tool that could be useful. Various drawers were yanked open and slammed shut as none of them contained anything worthy of use.

Sakura slammed the final drawer shut and released a huff of frustration. She leaned against the counter and peered around for any other options. Her gaze eventually set on the sitting room adjacent to the kitchen. A light hissing came from the fireplace in there. A fireplace. It was perfect. Slowly, Sakura made her way into the living room and came to the fireplace. She had been lucky that it was lit due to the weather getting colder outside.

She positioned herself onto her knees and opened the small gate blocking out the flames. Heat swarmed past her cheeks as it diffused across the room. Her palm loosened as she stared to the silver piece of jewelry. Slowly, she lifted it until it was angled perfectly across the flames. Her fingers began to shake as the gravity of everything weighed down on her.

 _I shouldn't do this. I can't. What if there's still a chance that…?_ She steadily shook her head. _Stop. We're over. He won't care either way._ Motivation entered her once again as her hand steadied itself. Several tense seconds passed with the item loosely hanging from her fingertips. Eventually, gravity pulled down on it. The item fell until it hit the top of a log. At first, it just sat there amongst the inferno. However, after the heat settled in, the flames swallowed up the item with a loud hiss and pop sending sparks all around. The evidence was all melting away slowly but surely. Sakura released the breath she had been holding in for some time. She closed the gate and got back to her feet. It was over now.

 **X.X.X**

The brunet stared at the few lines of code inscribed onto his computer screen. He went to reach for his keyboard once again but stopped as his present distraction took over. He let out a frustrated sigh. Why was it so hard for him to concentrate on his work? His thoughts just kept drifting back to the day before and his behavior. Had he made the right decision by just walking away? By not trying to apologize? _Tch, that's ridiculous,_ he told himself. _Any decision I make is the right one._ There was an especially long pause between his thoughts. _Right?_

The more he thought about it, he did admit that some of his choices in the past were less than worthy based upon his moral compass. Although, it wasn't exactly his place to apologize either. _She_ was the one that decided to end things. It wasn't his decision.

 _You still love her though,_ his thoughts told him.

But, he didn't want to entangle himself in a situation where she'd just refuse him. Their break up wasn't a mutual choice, it was hers alone. The brunet didn't have time to be rejected once again, nor did he desire to. He'd just have to deal with it.

 **X.X.X**

Sakura's gaze fell to the hands of her psychiatrist, Doctor Lee. She watched as her doctor scribbled down some notes on a notepad while occasionally glancing up at her. The light-haired brunette wiped a tear from her cheek with her palm. She hated talking about her afflictions. Not only did they remind her of extreme panic, but they also gave her a feeling of vulnerability. Slowly, she began to take in several deep breaths to try and calm the adrenaline within her.

Doctor Lee looked back to the girl. "Do you want to talk about it anymore?"

Sakura shook her head.

"Sakura, just try to understand that you're safe now. Your offender is in prison and there are plenty of people around to help you through this."

"I know."

"You still have your mother around and that man you're dating, right? Seto was his name, correct?"

Sakura stiffened at the mention of him. "We broke up."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Alright, fair enough. Maybe next time then. Until your next appointment, I'm going to put up your medication dosage and see how that fares with you, alright?"

"Okay."

"Things may seem tough now, but they'll get better, Sakura. Have a good day."

"Thank you."

 **X.X.X**

"Seto?"

The young CEO peered over to his younger sibling standing by the doorway. "What is it?" he asked.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course I am." It was a foolish question to ask.

"Well, you seem a bit more downcast than usual these past few days."

"I'm fine."

Despite his brother's monotonous tone, Mokuba could sense that something was wrong with the brunet. "I haven't seen Sakura around either. Are you sure everything is okay?"

"We broke up."

"What? What did you do?"

Seto sighed. Why did he automatically assume that it was _his_ fault? "I didn't do _anything._ She's the one that decided to end it."

"Why?"

"I'm not in the mood to discuss this now, Mokuba. I'm very busy."

"Why can't you just tell me?"

"I have work to finish."

"You can't just ignore your problems forever."

"What did I just say? I don't have time for this conversation."

The ebony-haired teen released a deep sigh. It was nearly impossible to get through to his brother. He knew that better than anyone. "Fine, but you can't keep this from me forever, Seto. You'll never gain anything by just sulking about everything."

The young CEO grunted in response as he continued his typing.

"Idiot," Mokuba mumbled as he left the office.

* * *

 **Well, hey there! Sorry for the wait for this chapter. I got crazy busy with rehearsal for my school musical and then the show came up. And then when I went back to writing, I started really struggling with a TON of stuff that pertained not only to the chapter, but the entire story. But, thankfully, I pulled through, survived, and have now taken back some of my motivation. I mean, the chapter isn't really long or anything, but I guess it's something. But, you guys didn't come here for my excuses, you came to read this thing. So anyways, thanks guys for sticking with me and I'll see y'all next update!**


	22. Hiatus!

**Hi guys. First off, I just want to apologize for having to do this. I thought about it a lot, and even though it hurts me, it might be the best option. So, as you can see, I've been trying to work on this chapter for the past month. Guess what? I haven't even started it! Yeah… I think there's stuff getting in my way of working at full potential.**

 **My wake-up call happened last night. At the time, I was planning out some things and I felt I was getting stuff done. Suddenly though, everything just fell apart. In response, I started being an idiot and overreacted over everything. It just so happened that I was talking with a friend at that moment, so I proceeded to take out my frustration on her. I was being immature. There's no denying I upset her. I don't want to be like that. I want to improve myself so I can prevent more aggression. I realize now that the frustration from writing didn't cause my anger, it was me. I was wrong and improvements need to be made.**

 **BUT, I've not lost hope! Quitting is not my intent _at all_. Time merely needs to be taken so I can breathe and figure myself out. Honestly, I care about what I produce for you guys. No, I care about _you._ You guys are so supportive and that really keeps me going. So, thank you. Believe me, I love writing this story, so I promise to come back soon (maybe a month or so..?)**

 **Although, when I return, knowing me I'll probably just rewrite both TSF and OBC… Actually, I want to do that! It sounds fun! XD You guys just deserve better than this thing here full of plot holes and madness. So, it could happen. Don't be shocked if it does.**

 **In short, I'm not giving up, it's just not the time to move forward.**

 **Xoxo**

 **\- AbyssalDreamer18**


	23. Return! Rewrite!

***taps mic* Is this thing on? Hello? Oh, hi, guess what? I HAVE RETURNED FROM THE VERY PITS OF NONEXISTENCE! Yeah, wow. Ahem... OH. MY. GOD. That hiatus took FOREVER. I'm real sorry, guys! I never expected to take that long of a break. At the time, I thought I'd only be away for like two months... but then that turned into an entire year. From what I recall, I had initially begun the hiatus because I was really stressed out at the time and OBC was turning into a mess (but back to that later). Following this, I took my break, but that turned into procrastination, and then I got super busy again. Long story short, that's my bad excuse.**

 **Now, as I mentioned above, there's the thing with OBC. Another reason why the hiatus began was because I was realizing I was writing myself into a hole. Most of this is due to me impulsively making bad writing decisions. From this, I didn't know where to go. So once I got my soul again, I came back to it. But, being me, I looked at it and said "wow, I'm never gonna recover from this... let's rewrite it!" And that's the plan!**

 **I eventually took a look at TSF as well and realized the whole series itself should be rewritten. Overall both stories seemed to have accumulated elements of bad planning, some plotholes and inaccuracies, along with it just not fitting the view I wanted. Naturally, based on this, the rewrite will be almost completely different from the original. But that's okay! More importantly, I want it to be something I'm happy to work on and that you guys can enjoy it. It is possible this could be one of my final projects as well... But, we've still got time!**

 **The rewrite will be titled _Cross The Line_ and it will be up hopefully later today or tomorrow. Also, special note, _That Stabbing Feeling_ will remain on my account, but _Our Broken Chains_ could be potentially deleted. This is mostly because it will remain discontinued, but it depends on how things go, so nothing is confirmed yet. Let me know if you have any questions or comments!**

 **Thanks for all the continued support and reads!**

 **xoxo**

 **-AbyssalDreamer18**


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